Percy Jackson and himself?
by craigbatter2
Summary: Percy meets his evil twin Perseus. What happens when both 18-year olds think that they're the real one. Once again, Story much better. Read it!
1. Chapter 1

Percy

RING! RING! RI-

I stopped the alarm clock. I woke up and gave a huge yawn. Annabeth always says I look like a lion when I yawn. King of the jungle. After I finished my monstrous yawn (which took like 2 minutes), I hopped out of bed. Annabeth was already up, of course. Probably in living room eating her breakfast, watching Discovery Channel. Getting ready to leave for work. I sighed in frustration at myself. The great Percy Jackson. 18 years old and still without a job.

I walked to the bathroom and brushed my teeth in front of the mirror. I looked at myself. Sea green eyes, messy, jet black hair. Some things never changed. I took off my shirt to get ready to take a shower, then paused in the mirror.

I. Looked. Amazing. My body was ripped in the prime way an 18 year old is supposed to look. I looked like Captain America when he came out the chamber. I flexed in front of the mirror. I did a slow model walk in the mirror. Then a voice slowed my roll.

"Are you done admiring yourself? Because it's your day to make breakfast."

Annabeth and I alternate days of cooking. She refuses to take the stereotypical woman role of cooking, so I'm forced to do microwave and pre-made stuff. Pathetic, yes, but I refuse to cook.

I paused and turned around to see Annabeth standing there with her hands on her hips, trying to look serious, but I could see her trying to hold a laugh in. She was definitely checking me out.

"Don't flatter yourself, Jackson."

As if she read my mind. I grinned. That was my Annabeth. Always able to read me like a book. I moved closer to her. "You know, I got a surprise for you this morning."

"Really? What's that?"

"Something only sons of Poseidon can cook."

"Mmmm, what is it? Eggs? Salmon? Some rare dish only made in the Bahamas?"

"Even better. A dish with tiny circles of bread sprinkled with sugar and featuring flavored marshmallows. All of that is bathed in a bowl of nice, clean, milk straight from the farm with a side of bread heated to perfection. The bread has a topping of sweet butter from the farms of…wait for it…Safeway! All of that is topped off with a tropical drink flavored by the most popular fruit in the world. Compliments of your boyfriend."

"You mean Lucky Charms, toast and orange juice?"

"You got it." I grinned at her.

Annabeth couldn't take it anymore. She smiled.

"You are such a dummy. That's why I already ate breakfast."

I feigned hurt at the comment. I clutched my heart and made a dying face. Annabeth laughed. She hugged me and touched my face with her hand. I pulled her by her hip, and she laughed again.

"You are so silly, Percy."

"And that's why you love me."

We leaned in.

She whispered, "Seaweed Brain."

"Wise Girl."

We kissed passionately. Our tongues wrestled a little, but as always she dominated me. I sighed in the kiss and she giggled in the liplock. We started to make out and we fell on the bed. Just as I started to get my hopes up, Annabeth pushed me away so hard that I rolled on the mattress and landed hard on the ground. Ow. Typical Jackson luck.

Annabeth laughed. "You're making me late, Percy. Going to work. Try not to kill yourself while I'm gone."

I scrambled up, trying to conserve at least some of my dignity. "Wait! Come here, girl. You gotta give me a real kiss before you go!"

Annabeth rolled her eyes and when I leaned in, she put her finger over her lips so the only thing separating me from a kiss was her index finger. "Now, you only get this kiss if you go to my architectural orientation-"

I backed away from her and rolled across the bed dramatically to try to get away from her. I knew she had a plan. She always does.

"Hades, no. Annabeth, your coworkers are like dry zombies. I gotta splash myself with seawater to keep myself awake in there."

Annabeth made a pouting face, and she bore into me with her gray eyes. "Percy! Just one night, please."

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"….please?"

"…."

"Thanks, baby. I love you!"

"Ugh."

Annabeth laughed. "See you later Seaweed Brain."

She blew a kiss at me. "There's your kiss."

I rolled my eyes. She beamed at me, then left.

I sighed. That girl keeps me on my feet. I never get bored. And I love her…a lot. Plenty enough to marry her. But the cost, plus our friends will blow it up. And our parents…don't even get me started on mother-in-laws.

I sighed and walked across the room to the living room table and picked up the newspaper. I was looking for possible jobs I could be doing to bring some money here. I finally finished high school…took me a couple years to do it and to stick to my duties as a Greek hero, but I finally did it. You should've saw the people who attended my graduation. That's something we will never forget. People running in terror, screams, panicking. Why? Because Chiron and the Camp Half-Blood crew were there. And all the gods. It was their first graduation and they didn't know how to act, so when Zeus and Poseidon got into an argument, the rest was history. I laughed at the memory.

According to Chiron, life was going to be much harder now that I am officially an adult in the eyes of monsters and godly enemies. They wouldn't have any mercy on me now that I can be held accountable. They don't see me as the little kid with the big daddy anymore. They see a man who is a demigod hero. Jealousy, fear, hatred, all of those will play a part in the motives of people who want me dead.

I'm going to be honest. I am slightly jealous of my girlfriend. Daughter of Athena, she went right out into the real world when she turned 18 like me. Wise, intelligent, and fierce, she was ready to leave unlike my hesitant self. She immediately went out and made a name for herself in architecuring.

We decided to live together, and you don't know the half of how hard it is to stay with this woman. Her standards are so high that I can't even reach it with Blackjack. But she's now an architect. For both Olympus and Earth. She lives in New York with me, so we can be close to Camp Half-Blood and since New York is the focal point of our nation. At 18 years old.

Annabeth and I have the same situations, but she's at work and I'm sitting here at the breakfast table with Cinnamon Toast Crunch in my bowl and looking for a job. I looked around.

Limousine driver? No.

Box stacker? No.

Pilot? You've got to be kidding me.

Babysitter? Unless you want your children in the danger of the Minotaur, no.

Camp Counselor? No.

I threw the newspaper on the ground in anger. I couldn't find anything I wanted to do…wait…what does that say in the corner? I picked up the newspaper, intrigued.

Lifeguard. I grinned. I'm pretty sure that has to do with water. Someone who hangs out at the pool and saves people who are drowning or whatever.. I could handle that. I looked at the phone number on the paper. It said to call as soon as possible. It seemed slightly embarrassing to make much less money than my girlfriend. But it's better than not having a job. New job, here I come. But knowing the old Jackson luck? Started by my namesake Perseus? Something's bound to go wrong. As if on cue, out of nowhere, materialized three harpies. They had leathery bat wings, and faces ready to kill. "Die now, son of the sea god, under the command of Janus and the goddess Ate."

"Ate? The goddess of evil Ate?"

The middle one, I'm guessing was the lead one, sneered. "Of course, demigod! And Janus, god of choices, doorways, and sides. We have been sent to kill you."

I grinned and got out my favorite pen. "You can try, if you want." I yawned for emphasis to show my indifference. Of course, this angered them and they swooped toward me to attack. The one painfully reminded me of my ally Ella. But I got over it when I stabbed one of them in the stomach, disintegrating her. Then as I was doing that, the lead one flew and wrenched Riptide out of my hands. "Not so tough now, without your sword, are you, demigod?"

The other harpy came on my other side and tried to claw me. I ducked her slash, and gave her an uppercut punch. I have to keep track of my enemies on both sides. I turned around and kicked the lead one in the chest, stunning her for a few seconds. I turned around quickly and gave the harpy on my left a roundhouse punch, knocking her unconscious. As I turned around, the lead one was swinging Riptide at my neck. I barely managed to do a matrix under it, punch her pressure point in her right arm holding the sword so she was forced to drop it. When she released my sword, I caught it and beheaded her. All the harpies turned into red dust, unlike the golden dust I'm accustomed to.

I stared at them closely. The dust then whirled together and turned into a red glow. The red glow disappeared and materialized again around me so I was enveloped in a red glow. It didn't hurt, or anything, but it was weird because I couldn't move. It stayed there for like 3 seconds, then the glow turned into a red sphere of light, and sunk through the ceiling. Finally, I could move again.

The whole thing seemed suspicious. Who would send just three harpies and expect to kill me. They know that if I'm powerful enough to kill Kronos and defeat Gaea, I can beat a couple of harpies. There was an alterior motive, and I suspect it had something to do with that red paralyzing glow. And Janus? And Ate? I already knew Ate was the goddess of evil so she's always up to things, but how powerful I am, why not come for me herself? And Janus. We met him in the Labyrinth, what did I do to anger him? Or maybe him and Ate had some kind of deal…I slumped down on the couch.

As if someone's trying to annoy me, I heard a knock at the door as soon as I sat down. I sighed and hustled into my room and threw on my 'Save The Planet, Or Else I'll Kill You!' shirt that Rachel gave me and opened the door.

There, standing there was….Grover! He had a snapback so you couldn't see his horns with a leather jacket on with actual blue jeans on so I couldn't recognize him at first

"Grover!" We both laughed and hugged each other. We hadn't seen each other in a couple months. He reached into his bag, and pulled out a huge can of sodas, some movies, and some popcorn, and grinned.

Meh. Lifeguarding can wait.


	2. Chapter 2

Percy

Grover and I had a movie day. This means we watch movies all day and order pizza, get popcorn, and pretty much be fat until Annabeth is about to come home where we use our abilities to clean up quickly. At 3:30, we were both passed out on the couch. Our tongues hanging out, food all on the floor, TV still running, we were some fat men.

BUZZ. BUZZ. My phone was vibrating. I jolted awake the first time it shook my pant leg. It was Annabeth's text. _Coming Home soon. You and Grover had better not have been lazy for the whole day. _Then at the end she put one of them tongue faces. I got up and smacked Grover.

"BLA-ha-ha….what happened?"

"Annabeth's coming home. Let's go."

We were pros at this by now. Grover ran around the room and ate all the cans that were laying around. I reached my hand out towards the sink. A tugging sensation formed in my gut, and water burst out of the faucet and splashed all in the floor, washing sauce, pizza, popcorn, and overall dust up. Soon, I had a whole wave sloshing in the apartment, and when Grover was caught up in it, he screamed and flailed his arms around until he hit a wall and passed out. Soon he was floating with the wave. It washed over the whole floor.

I directed it so everything it picked up eventually ended up in the trash can. After the wave dispelled, I ran and took the trash out to the back of the apartment building. Kind of depressing that all my Camp Half-Blood training is used on this. After I got back, everything was, as my mom says, 'spick and span'. Except everything was soaking wet. No problem. I closed my eyes and inhaled. All the water dried up and everything looked cleaner than when we started. Grover came to, and I had to carry his big goat self to the couch. Grover took the remote and turned it to the Discovery Channel.

We exhaled in relief and high-fived each other. We crashed on the couch as soon as Annabeth unlocked the door and walked in. We smiled at her. "Hi, Annabeth", we both said simultaneously. Annabeth looked around and rolled her eyes. She walked over to me and gave me a kiss. "Hmm…pepperoni pizza, popcorn, coke and Sprite? Eating healthy today, are we boys?"

Grover and I sighed. "Sorry, Annabeth." She smirked and walked over to the counter.

Grover grunted. "This is going to be a horrible bestfriend-ship if the wife we're supposed to fool is smarter than the both of us."

"And it's not hard to be smarter than both of you." Annabeth's eyes sparkled at me and I just rolled my eyes.

"By the way, Wise Girl, I found a lifeguard job to apply for."

"That's good! Hopefully, if you get the job, you can start tomorrow."

Grover and I looked at each other. Annabeth and Grover looked at each other. Annabeth and I looked at each other. And we all bust out laughing.

"Hahahahahaha…she said….if…you…get the….*snort* hahahaha…"

"hahahaha…yearh….'sorry you can't swim, we can't give you the job'….hahahaha."

After we finished that, a rainbow popped up…and Iris-Message. It was Malcolm, Annabeth's half-brother. Annabeth walked quickly over to the couch we were on and squeezed in between Grover and I despite our protests. "Malcolm! Hey! What's going on?"

The shimmery face of Malcolm scowled at me. "Hello, sister. Grover. Anyway, I have sent this message to proclaim that Perseus Jackson has been evicted out of Camp Half-Blood and never to returnh-"

"-WHAT?"

"-effective immediately."

I jumped to my feet. "This can't be happening? What did I do?"

Malcolm sneered, then scowled darkly again. "You would be one to talk, Jackson. You should know what you had done just a few hours ago."

What? A few hours ago? I was here the whole day with Grover? Luckily, Grover voiced my thoughts.

"A few hours ago? He was with me, what do you mean?"

Malcolm nodded respectfully at the satyr. "I respect you trying to cover for your friend, but he is a criminal and a traitor. He came and attacked Camp Half-Blood. Took out all our kids there who were brave enough to battle him. Even wounded Chiron. Attacked and left the camp in ruins, and on fire. You are never to return to Camp again in your life. If you do, we will sense your presence, and prepare to kill you. You have been warned. Sis, I will speak to you later about your…boyfriend." The Iris-Message dissolved.

I had a feeling he wanted to say something other than that word. I would rather not repeat it. But I've obviously been framed. Annabeth turned towards me with a scowl on her face. Her gray eyes analyzing me like she would an enemy. Which she might take me as now, considering that camp was her home.

"Annabeth, don't look at me like that."

"Did you do it?"

"Do that? Really-"

"Did you do it?"

"NO! Of course not."

"Don't lie to me."

"I didn't!"

"Then there must be someone that looks exactly like you with your powers and fighting abilities out there trashing Camp. Why? I don't know. But you're going to have to fix this. If you're not, I will. I'm finding out what's going on by myself."

I started to get my stuff, but she whirled around like a tornado. "STAY…here. You're banished, remember? Tch."

She got her stuff and left, slamming the door behind her.

Grover looked at me with a frown on his face. I stared at him. "Grover? Do you know anything about this? Know anything it could be?"

Grover tugged at the collar of his shirt. "Bla-ha-ha, of course not! Listen, I got to go, fast. Gotta go talk to Chiron about…about my history homework." He ran out quickly. He's a terrible liar. There's something going on here that I don't know about, and it's not anything good. Why would Grover lie to me? Why would Annabeth be so quick to believe something that is so…_unlike _me that it's crazy to believe? And, most importantly, who is the person out there being me or twisting people's perceptions about me? I looked over at the fish on the window sill. I could hear their thoughts, _Son of the Sea god! How could you! _

"Oh, shut up."

Thinking about these questions, and all the stress on me, and me being alone, I laid on the couch and fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

_I was standing in some dark room. Like it was pitch black. You couldn't see anything but…black. Then two figures walked out, clear as if they were standing in a perfectly lighted room. I could feel her aura even in a dream. Ate, the goddess of evil. Standing with a creature with two faces pointing in opposite direction, sharing one body. All too familiar with the creature Janus, god of choices, doorways, and sides. They started talking. _

"_The demigod doesn't suspect. Your light worked, Ate." _

"_Of course it did. The fool wouldn't know what to do. Can you imagine the looks on people's faces? Percy Jackson, the great hero, ruining his reputation? We were successful."_

"_Successful in combining our powers and abilities-"_

"_-to make an evil Percy Jackson." _

_I staggered. The place was spinning. They made a copy of me? A clone? An evil clone, from the looks of it. How can you make a clone of someone…I didn't even know that was possible. It all made sense now. Ate, the goddess of mischief, evil, and folly used her evil powers with Janus, god of sides, and created and EVIL SIDE of me. A clone. Who's going around and tarnishing my reputation. I gritted my teeth. _

_Ate turned in my direction. "You don't have to think so loud, demigod, we can hear you. And of course you can make copies of people. You take the same principle that Roman and Greek gods can co-exist and be at the same place at the same time. Even though they're technically the same deity. Even though they're different people. And yes, he's tarnishing your reputation. If we can't kill you physically, we can kill you socially, eh?" She laughed evilly, of course. _

_The whole Roman/Greek aspects of gods still gave me a headache, but she continued. _

"_If we can't beat you, who else better to defeat you than your own self? Eh? Sound good?" _

_I scowled. I wished I could punch them right in their godly faces. "I can understand why the coward Ate would do that. But Janus? Not something I would put on your list of things you would do." _

_Janus looked slightly guilty. The right side of the face, the more logical one said, "Sorry, demigod. I like you and all, but Ate promised a war. A big one. Between Rome and Greece. Past and Present. People like you will have to choose sides. Make decisions. Go down doorways of no return. Just my specialty." _

_Ate waved her hand. A rectangular vision appeared in front of my face, and there I saw…myself. It was me. Messy black hair, sea green eyes, except they weren't my calm, relaxed, cool mood. They were intense, cold, harsh color green. I was surrounded around the bodies of dead campers who had the nerve to attack me. I was dressed in all black, and I was attacking…Connor and Travis Stoll. And I was fighting to kill. I kicked one in the chest and looked to stab him in the heart, but Travis got in my way. I punched him to the ground, but I got struck in the chest by a lightning bolt…Thalia! That should've killed me, or at least knocked me out, but I calmly looked up and sneered at her. Then I grinned cockily at her. She yelled, "The Hades is wrong with you, Percy?" She flew down and blasted me again, but I parried the lightning with Riptide. I raised my hand and a water palm formed out the sea and slapped Thalia to the ground. I pounded her with the open palm several times so when I was done, she was a dent in the ground. And she stayed there. I walked nonchalantly over to her and stood over her. I then said in an ancient Greek accent (or was that Russian?), "Call me Perseus, dear cousin." _

_So I'll call him Perseus. Perseus looked again to the sky when someone said, "Reinforcements are here! Welcome, ROMANS!" Three individuals flew down from the sky…one of them being Jason Grace. He landed hard on the ground. I hadn't seen him in a year. He was ripped, blond hair cropped short like a private school boy, and his usually golden hair was darkened. Jason blasted Perseus with a lightning bolt, but Perseus seemed unfazed. Jason took out his gladius, and rushed into battle with Leo and Piper at his side. Leo had also matured too, drawing flames out of nowhere and making them bigger and biggerPerseus dealt with Jason first. Jason ran his gladius through Perseus' chest to try and stun him, but the gladius glanced off his body as if stabbing a concrete wall. Perseus smirked and stabbed Jason in the knee. He screamed, and Piper and Jason ran to his aid. Leo shot columns of fire at his face, but they didn't seem to faze Perseus. He just kept walking calmly towards Leo, who was backing up quickly. "I don't want to hurt you, Percy. Just calm down and we can all talk about it around a campfire with marshmallows."_

_Perseus smirked, and spoke in my voice. It was so creepy that I shuddered. "Sounds tempting, but I have a date to go to. Maybe we can do a…rain check." _

_And when he said 'rain check', he snapped his fingers and the whole ocean, literally, the whole ocean rose and made a huge, overwhelming, ominous wave over the camp. Piper cried in a small voice, "Um, can any of you swim?" The whole wave crashed down, destroying cabins and creating a flood that wiped out all the campers. It didn't kill, but most of them were unconscious. The vision faded. Ate and Janus smiled at me. I just looked at them in terror. Then I attacked them. Their faces widened in surprise, but Ate snapped her fingers and I woke up. _

And I was tied to a chair in an unknown room. I was trapped.


	4. Chapter 4

SLAP.

I felt the hard sting of a slap on my right cheek. I took the blow easily and looked straight into the eyes of my attacker….wait….he looks familiar….Dr. Thorn! His face of the vice principal of one of one of my schools last year remained the same. He looked into my eyes and slapped me again. I took it again. I'm used to pain. It wasn't anything new. Instead, I looked him in the eyes. It was pitch black, but once again, he and I were clear as if it was daylight outside.

"Man, you got laid off, didn't you? What, you were mutilating the students, so they let you go?"

SLAP.

"Do you know…how long…it took me…to raise from….TARTARUS? Too long, Jackson, too long. You don't know what I paid Ate to have you delivered here to me. So I can deal with you myself."

I didn't think so. I frowned. "Then why am I still alive then? There must be some other motive that you were told to do. Keep me alive, at least."

Thorn sneered. "Smart one, aren't you? Not in school, of course, considering you went through 50 schools in your whole life."

"38."

"Excuse me. Big difference. You are correct, I was ordered to keep you alive so you can watch your twin Perseus live your life."

I made a strangling sound in my throat. He was living _my _life? Impossible. He's evil…and my whole life is centered around the fact that I'm a hero. He wouldn't be able to last long. He may look me, but my friends will see through it quickly.

Thorn managed a dry smile. "Trying to convince yourself, eh? Can't blame you. But your twin is you, Jackson. You and him are the same person, just with different motives. Meaning that he can act exactly like you. And he will. He will steal your life, and offer you the worst humiliation possible. And that humiliation isn't anything physical, any monster beating you up, no. It's to be shunned, to be _excluded _from your life. To have no one to love you. I know what that's like."

"Really? I thought you were a popular student in your glory days." Thorn growled and shot a two thorns at me that both impaled me in the chest. I winced, and my vision went blurry. "Oh, don't worry. It won't kill you. If that's what you're worried about. Now, shall I turn on the movie?"

Thorn clapped his hands and the same rectangular screen materialized in front of me. I was in pain, but all my attention was focused on this. The scene shimmered into Perseus…at _my _apartment.

"No…"

He walked upstairs, past my room, and to the level upstairs. It still creeped me out how we looked exactly alike. He had my walk down, everything. For a horrifying moment, I was scared that I would be stuck here forever with this lunatic, watching him live my life perfectly.

Perseus walked to room 343, and knocked on the door. Oh no. No, no, no, no, NO. Please don't open the door, please don't open the door…sure enough, the door opened. And there, standing as lovely as ever, was Calypso. She had rented an apartment in Manhattan after I released her from her punishment. After I, PERCY JACKSON, released her. Anyway, Perseus said nervously, "Hey, Calypso."

He was such a good damn actor. He had my nervous, embarrassed look down. He could even blush like me on purpose. I struggled against the bonds of the chair, as if that was going to change anything. Thorn in the corner laughed. "Surprised, Jackson? I bet you will be even later."

Calypso looked me…looked Perseus up and down, then gave me a huge embrace. Like a couple embrace. Not a friend embrace, not a 'hey, I just met you' embrace, not a 'good friend' embrace, it was a girlfriend embrace. And Perseus went along with it. He hugged her tight, and said the worst thing possible, "I broke up with her, Calypso. It was terrible. I'm so…lonely."

I was gripping the arm rests of the chair so hard that my knuckles turned white. How DARE he disrespect Annabeth like that. And if he's actually me, he has some feelings for her also. Calypso looked into his sea green eyes with the exact look I was hoping she wouldn't do. Hopeful.

I was hopeful that she would kick Perseus' ass and knock him out for impersonating me, but instead, she looked into his eyes. Calypso invited me in, and the view adjusted like it was a camera-man following Perseus' every move like he was a movie star. So now, two Percy's were in Calypso's room.

Then, in my voice, in my countenance, in my timing, in my _likeness, _he said, "Do you mind if I take a quick shower? I think better when I take a shower, because of the water, you know."

Calypso nodded. I wonder if he would still have the powers of the sea now that Poseidon doesn't side with evil. He probably does though, that would be what makes him so dangerous. And from the looks of it, he took a dip in the River Styx. So he was pretty much invincible.

Stop it, don't think like that. Anyway, Perseus went into the bathroom, and of course, the camera-man followed him in. I curled my lip up. I didn't need to see him take a shower…after all, I know what I look like naked. Don't need a full body shot. But instead, he went into the bathroom, and took his shirt off. He smiled in the mirror…evilly…and I knew he had a plan. He looked just like me, ripped, tanned, and muscular. He then took a deep breath and walked out, muttering to himself like I do when I forget something. He had it down perfectly.

"Forgot my towel, yeah, such a Seaweed Brain, huh?" Calypso eyed me…him…as if he was eye candy. Perseus reached over her to get a towel…then in the corniest way possible, he slid over her so he was on top of her in the bed in a sexual advance. I shook so violently that the chair tipped over. No. nononononononono, but yes. The chair fell right on it's side and I was officially watching a movie from the side. Hello, future headache. Thorn laughed in the corner. I wanted to rip one of these thorns out and stick them someplace where he wouldn't be able to laugh anymore because he would be singing soprano.

Anyway, Perseus was on top of her and kissed her violently, sexually. I wondered if this was all inside me all along. The dream of just staying on the island with Calypso and pulling an Odysseus…staying there for 7 years and have a couple children. Calypso kissed back, with more force than Perseus. His body was flexing, then contracting as his hands slid over every part of her body. I closed my eyes. This was too much. I wanted to beat his ass for doing this to me. Thorn laughed again. "Too much for you, demigod? See him cheating on your girlfriend? Funny, I suppose. You have a lot more of this coming your way-"

He didn't get to finish the sentence because I was standing up, and the ropes fell off like they were cut. Oh, that's right, because they _are _cut. I stood up tall, with Riptide in hand. I grinned at Thorn. "Not so tough now, huh?"

Sure enough, Thorn was backing away from me as quickly as he could in a pitch-black environment. I walked towards him. He turned and sprinted, but I threw Riptide like a knife and it impaled Thorn in the back of the knee. Thorn went down, and I walked calmly over to him, rage rushing through my veins. I wanted to kill him so badly, but it wasn't my style. So I bluffed.

I put the sword under his chin. "We can do this easy, or difficult. You can turn into a pile of dust now, or I can turn you into a pile of dust by killing you and sending you back to Tartarus." Then I grinned. "Perseus' not the only one with a bit of malicious intent."

Like the punk he is, Thorn vanished in a pile of golden dust. I used Riptide's bronze glow to illuminate my path. We were definitely in an abandoned warehouse. I looked around. Cobwebs, boxes, and rats seemed to be the majority of cargo here. I did a full 360, and I finally found the door like 30 feet away. I got into a track position. I imagined a person with a gun saying, 'Ready, set, GO!' and I took off with my shoulder down. I was going to bust down this door.

I ran…25 feet, 20 feet, 15 feet,10 feet, 5 feet….and I smashed into the door. The door didn't budge, but I was the one who got smashed. I crumpled to the ground, holding my arm. Wait a second…if my Jackson luck was still constant….I got up and tried the doorknob. Of course, it was unlocked. I opened the door, and escaped into the night. I looked around. This was definitely New York…but where was I? I closed my eyes, and used my homing radar that Lupa had taught me. During these months, I've trained myself to home in on my apartment so I could find it at any time.

The apartment wasn't far away, my radar was telling me. I sniffed the air. It looks weird, but I was always able to sense it better with my nose. I sniffed around until I smelled….pepperoni pizza. To my northwest. I sprinted into the night.

About half an hour later, my homing senses were tingling like crazy. And sure enough, I was here. I ran inside the apartment and practically ran over a black kid and his light-skinned…cousin? Sister? I heard the girl comment, "Jeez, Carter, these New Yorkers are certifiably insane blokes, aren't they?"

"Calm down, Sadie, he seems to be in a rush."

I sprinted up the stairs and damn there fell into my apartment…to see Annabeth sitting at the table with her head in her hands. "What did I do wrong, Percy? What is it, I'm too smart for you? I'm too ugly?"

I moved towards her. She seemed too fragile to touch, that if you touched her, she would either break down or kill me. "You're none of that, Annabeth, you're amazing."

"Stop…LYING to me Percy! You LIE about everything! TO ME!" She shook as she looked at me with a look that killed me. Her eyes were red from crying, and her gray eyes were stormy in the red background. Her bottom lip quivered like she was going to break down. It startled me to see her like this. She took an exaggerated deep breath.

"Listen to the answering machine."

I reluctantly took my eyes off her and pressed the red button on the phone, instantly putting my eyes on her again. I couldn't afford to lose sight of her or else my head would be mysteriously rolling around from a beheading.

_Beep. _"Hey, Perseus, it's Calypso. Just calling to say that I had an amazing time tonight. I'm sorry about you and Annabeth. So communicate with me over the phone if you can, as soon as possible. Thank you."

I was horrified. My worst dream had come true. Being in between some issue with Annabeth and Calypso. Annabeth looked at me with tears still her in her eyes. "To think I fell in love with a son of Poseidon. Tall, tan, and handsome hero of Greece. Turns out he's just an asshole like all the rest."

I took a chance. I walked over to Annabeth and reached to hug her. As soon as I touched her, in a flash, Annabeth whipped out her dagger. In an even quicker flash, I whipped out Riptide and parried her strike with the dagger. She kicked me in the soft spot and I grimaced, but I held my ground. We were still locked in the blade position. "Annabeth, you have to listen to me. That wasn't me-"

"NOT YOU? Then it must be your evil twin. Someone who shares your desires."

I wanted to say, _Yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying, _but that would earn me another painful kick. "Annabeth, please-"

"Get out my way or I'm calling the authorities. Then I'll kill you." And the look in her eyes, I didn't doubt it. I stepped out the way and she brushed coldly past me. She gathered her suitcases that she had packed, and started to leave. She was at the door, then turned around. "I loved you, Percy. I trusted you. But just like Luke, you betrayed me. And you can never earn my trust again." And she turned around and slammed the door.

I was left in despair. Annabeth left me. I was on my own. I put my head down and ran my fingers through my hair like I do when I'm nervous. Then I heard a familiar voice.

"It sucks, doesn't it?"

There, standing there, in all black clothing, but otherwise a mirror image of myself, was Perseus. I felt like I was looking in a mirror. He was leaning against the side of the door nonchalantly.

I gritted my teeth. Anger coursed through my veins and the familiar tugging sensation filled my gut. I had so much anger that it tainted my vision red. I spoke slowly, murderously. He made me lose my friends, took away my girlfriend from me, and destroyed my rep.

"You. Will. Die."

He grinned. My grin. The way that my eyes close slightly when I grin was present also. He was a mirror image.

"I'm sure I will." And he got out his version of Riptide. It was blood red, _Narmekushio, _meaning 'Blood in the Waters'.

He spoke again, so smoothly it made me want to kill him even more.

"Let's dance, shall we?"


	5. Chapter 5

Percy

He leaned against the door as if he faced his doppelganger every day. I was mad…mad enough to turn big and green. I wanted to kill him…until I realized that that's what he wanted. He wants me to get angry, lsoe control, so we can be two evil Percys.

I took a deep breath. "Who are you?"

Perseus grinned again. A shiver went down my back because he was talking in my voice, with my facial expressions. Did I really look that creepy when I smiled.

"I'm you, Percy. I'm everything about you that's evil, greedy, selfish, lustful, angry, and such. I'm the embodiment of that. I've been with you all this time. I know you. I would've killed Luke with the knife. I would've stayed on Calypso's island and destroy the prophecy. I would've become praetor at the Roman Camp. I would've accepted being a GOD! You turned that down like a pathetic, whimpering, fool! I know your moves. I know what you're going to do. Why? Because you fight to stun, a non-lethal form of combat. You don't know what I will fight like because I fight to kill. When you kill an enemy, they can't wake up and beat you again. And you, being the naïve imbecile that you are, always trying to save people. I don't have your fatal flaw. So I'm you. Improved. I should kill you for your impertinence."

I got out uncapped my pen and Riptide sprang to full form. "I'd like to see you try."

Perseus laughed like a serpent. "See, your problem is that the only time you're strong is when you're angry. And the only time you're a good fighter is when you're calm and collected. And so you can't be both. Me, I'm a good fighter, and Jackson?"

He swung twirled Narmekushio in the air so fast that it looked like a red glow. "I'm always angry." Then he charged.

I charged and Narmekushio and Anaklusmos met in the air. He had my fighting form, so it was easy to parry him. He tried for an experimental jab and I knocked his sword away from him so he was weaponless. I grinned and kicked him in the chest. It was like kicking a refrigerator, but he went down to the ground anyway. I picked him up by his shirt and threw him on the glass coffee table. He landed hard and the coffee table shattered. He crashed and he stayed there. His eyes were closed as if he was unconscious.

I took a deep breath. He might've been me, but he can't fight while he's angry. I got a golden drachma. I was going to notify Chiron and everybody and show my evil twin on the ground. Then as I was saying "Oh, goddess Iris-", Perseus stood up out the corner of my eye. I dropped the drachma and looked at him. He looked at me and laughed. "Sike."

And water burst out of the sink, formed a fist, then hit me into the wall of the apartment. I made a dent, then fell down on my face. Ow. Ow. I stood up, but another fist came and hit me to the other side of the room. I flew and slid over the counter and hit the cabinet corner with my forehead. Smooth.

I fell to the ground. Everything was dizzy. I stood up, and almost fell back down. Perseus ran, lowered his shoulder, and crashed into me with force unimaginable. I must've flew like 20 feet. I was blacking out. Everything was turning darker and darker. My vision changed from normal to total black, then back to normal. When it turned back to normal, Perseus grinned and punched me in the left eye. I stumbled to the ground again. Perseus kicked me in the face. I could taste blood in my mouth, and I spit it out.

He reached his hand out and nothing happened. He smiled at me. For one suspenseful second, it was silent. Then something ran through my back and out my chest. An ice glacier. I got stabbed. He controlled the water, sent it as a jet towards my back, then turned it into ice in the last moment. I blacked out.

_Wake up. Wake up, my son. _I gripped the ice and forced myself out of the ice spike. I took the huge ice glacier out my back. I looked at it and it looked like a ruby, except the red was my blood.

"Get up, weakling. This is hardly a fight. This is a beatdown. By yours truly. I thought we were the same person? Maybe you're the punk part of me. After I finish with you, I might pay Annabeth a little visit. Take advantage of her or something. She sure got a sexy body."

New strength coursed through me. He reminded me of Ares the way he's always bullying people. I don't like bullies.

And he was looking at Annabeth for sex? Rape? What was wrong with this guy? Oh yeah, everything. I always saw Annabeth as beautiful, amazing, and the love of my life. He saw her as sexy, and a slab of meat.

I picked up Riptide with my newfound strength and we had a _real _swordfight. Jabs, parries, strikes, dodging, strategies. And we were even. None of us could get the upper hand. He kicked me back. He smirked. "Much better, Jackson."

I gritted my teeth and held out my hand. Water burst out the sink as a jet of water that assaulted Perseus' back. Trust me, if you ever get hit with a hose at jet setting by someone 3 feet from you, multiply that from 100 and that's how that felt. Perseus grimaced when the water hit his body.

Finally. I stunned him. I turned the water to an open palm and slapped him across the room. Of course, it wouldn't hurt him, but it gave me time to recover. My Camp Half-blood shirt was in tatters, so I was pretty much without a shirt. Where was his Achilles' heel? Where could I hit him so he would die? Wait…if I could just get to that coin, I could summon Isis and Chiron and everybody would be able to see this fight. Even if I lose, they can send reinforcements and maybe even gods to take care of my twin. I looked around. Perseus was getting up. I scanned the room quickly. I saw the gold coin like 4 feet from me on the kitchen ground. I sprinted over there, but when I was about to pick it up, my body locked up.

Like literally. I couldn't move. I tried, but I couldn't. Perseus laughed. He had his hand out. "Controlling the water in your body, Percy. Meaning I can control you."

He forced the blood in my fingers to drop the coin. "You were never able to do this because this takes away the rights of the person you're doing it to. You're torturing them in the way that they would hate you. Like you do now."

Got that right. I was struggling, but it was futile. I couldn't move. I saw Perseus take off his shirt and went into my room. I still was stationary. He came out with a pair my sweatpants. He took the coin. He created a rainbow with mist from the sink water and threw it in. Thank you for being so dumb, twin. Now, they'll be able to see two Percy's.

"Oh, goddess Iris, accept my offering. Show me, Chiron."

The rainbow turned into a misty screen that showed Chiron addressing the whole camp. Perseus turned towards me with fake tears in his eyes. He was crying on purpose. That little….

Perseus yelled, "Chiron!"

Chiron turned around and saw us together. He gasped. "Percy, what happened…there's…two of you…."

"Yes, and you blamed me for it. Annabeth, everybody thought I would do those horrible things. Does that really seem like me?"

HADES yeah that seems like you. No, NO. He's framing me for it!

"Chiron, send down reinforcements and I'll tell you the whole story later. I still got to take care of some things."

Chiron blinked and nodded, as if he still couldn't make sense out of what was happening.

Perseus wiped his hand through the mist. He turned towards me and grinned my grin. "Well, I guess you're the criminal now. I'm going to get all the accolades, I'm going to get Annabeth back, AND I screwed Calypso. People are going to love me again….and you're going to be the outcast. Have fun, Percy."

He turned to leave. I felt the power of the sea in me. I fought through the controlling…and yelled. Water out of all areas in my apartment burst out and formed a huge wave. When it washed over me, I could move again.

My hair hung down over my face like a shaggy dog. I tossed it to the side. "There's only one Percy Jackson. And it sure as hell ain't you." Perseus bared his teeth. We were in th wave, so I pretty much was healed. I had renewed strength. For some reason, Riptide started to glow. I didn't know why, but I didn't argue. Perseus charged in the wave, and I charged in the wave. We both swung to behead each other. I heard a voice in my head. _My son. Use my power. _

I swung with the force of Poseidon. Nothing was able to stop this. Nothing. The anger, the water, and the power of my father all combined into one powerful, unstoppable strike. He looked like he was going to burst out of anger. But the Styx did make him stronger, so I _was _kind of curious what would happen. Our sword paths were identical, and when the swords met, the sheer power in it caused a huge implosion that totaled the aparment complex and sent both of us flying in the air. While in the air, everything went black. Faces went through the black background; my mom, Annabeth, Grover, Nico, Tyson, Chiron, Poseidon, Connor and Travis Stoll, Clarisse (Clarisse?), Jason, Piper, Leo, Hazel, Frank, and Thals. Then it turned completely black again. And I was fading out of consciousness.

_I'm sorry Annabeth._


	6. Chapter 6

I opened my eyes. I was in a forest. My head was pounding.

I looked around. It was nighttime, and every tree was different. Unique in their own way. I sensed danger. I struggled for a few seconds…okay, maybe a few minutes, to get up and get Riptide out to prepare for battle. I was so disoriented, everything was dizzy.

Then, out the clearing, I heard a roar. I focused my vision out towards where the sound was. A huge Cyclops ran through the forest, clumsily knocking trees down and tripping over his own feet. He reminded me painfully of Tyson, but I shook my head and got that image out of my mind. The Cyclops was chasing a little white girl with freckles, braces, and pigtails. She had a little blue spotted dress on.

Now usually, when a child is running from a monster, this means one of three things.

The child's insane, running from something imaginary, and it just happens that the monster's running in the same way.

The child's not just a child. They're something else, a god, demigod, or a monster themselves.

The whole situation of a child running from a monster is an illusion to trap the onlooker.

I went with #2. "Hey! Little girl! Over here!" My head hammered as if to say, _Hello? You're still supposed to be knocked out here. _

The girl turned towards me with evident panic in her eyes. I beckoned her over calmly, to show that I wasn't a threat to her. She hesitated, then sprinted towards me and hugged me. "It was so scary….he's chasing me…the monster…it's really big…"

I soothed her. "Okay, okay, just get behind me. Or run. I'll hold him off." She let go of the embrace reluctantly and cowered behind me. I held Riptide in a battle stance as the Cyclops stopped in front of me and just breathed.

Then, the Cyclops faded into the air and the little girl started laughing. I turned towards her, but she was gone. I asked pretty much to the air, "What just happened? Why are you laughing?" I hope I wasn't wrong and it was #3.

I looked around the trees. The ones the Cyclops had 'knocked down' were perfectly upright again, as if no one touched them. If this was some kind of prank-

"No. It was a test."

I turned quickly towards the voice and saw a pretty, Indian-skinned, teenage girl clothed in a brown dress. She was sitting on a log. The log was one out of like 10 that were arranged in a circle. I realized that she was making a fire. She took two random sticks, sparked them once, and a full fire was blazing. I scrambled away.

The fire grew 20 feet in the air, then 40 feet. Everytime it grew, I flinched. And somehow, even with this scary fire and being replaced by my evil twin, I felt right at home here. Then I knew who this was.

The fire reflected off her dark eyes. I bowed awkwardly. "Lady Hestia."

She smiled "Hello, Perseus." I shuddered because of the evil that my twin brought to that name. Already tarnished my reputation to a fault.

"And it was a test to see if you were the real Percy, or the fake, ill-natured copy of yourself. The evil copy of yourself would not have done anything to help me."

"Oh. Did I pass?" I hated tests. I always seemed to fail them. But these kind, I tended to pass.

Hestia smiled again. "Yes, I believe you did."

I looked around the forest. It was alive with the noises and sounds of animals. "I'm guessing you didn't bring me here to talk about football." I sighed and sat down on the log opposite her so we were facing each other.

She shook her head. "Alas, Perseus, I hear that you're having a sort of…identity crisis."

I managed a dry smile. "Yeah, you could say that."

"And you can't beat him."

"Well…"

"Honesty, Percy."

"….no, I can't. The only way would be if I happened to find his weak point, but that's unlikely. He's just as good a fighter as I am; but he has the curse of Achilles, and he's willing to kill."

"Then what is your plan to beat him?"

"Ummm…I don't know."

Hestia's fiery eyes bore into me. I asked, "You have some plan, Ms. Goddess?" It came out harsher than I intended, it sounded nasty and arrogant of me. I was immediately apologetic when it had come out my mouth. But, hey, in my defense, I was irritated.

Hestia kept looking at me. It made me uncomfortable. "Do you remember the abilities that Lupa the wolf taught you? Would you be able to show me right now?"

Honestly, I didn't. That was 2 years ago, how did she expect me to remember that? "…not really."

Hestia nodded as if she expected that answer. "What did Lupa tell you about if you follow her combat techniques?"

I thought back to 16 years old, dirty, amnesiac, and confused. Then Lupa found me. But I still didn't recall anything.

Hestia looked at me. "Still can't remember anything from it demigod? Well let me help you..." And she touched my forehead with one finger.


	7. Chapter 7

_Chapter 7_

_FLASHBACK_

_I sat up and rubbed my head. Where was I? What was I doing here? Who am I? _

_I felt leaves in my hair, and I brushed them out. _

_I had some pen in my hand. It had weird inscriptions on it. I uncapped it. Maybe I could write a letter or something. I don't know. I'm confused. But right as soon as I uncapped it, the thing grew and enlarged. I dropped it and it kept growing until it was a full 3 or 4 foot golden sword. I actually read the inscriptions on the sword. They were the same as the pen. I translated aloud. "Anaklusmos. Riptide. Woah. How did I know that?" _

"_Because you're not just another foolish boy, demigod." _

_I jumped and turned towards the face. There was the biggest wolf I had ever seen in my life. She had a full pack behind her and she must've been the leader or something. I backed up. "Woah, a talking wolf. Um, I'm not looking for any trouble, I just lost my memory and I'm trying to find it." _

_The wolf snarled. "Fear and Cowardice won't get you anywhere but the grave, demigod. I am Lupa, the wolf goddess. I smell Neptune on you. You're his son?" _

_I didn't get what she was saying, so I just nodded like a bobblehead. She snarled again. "Impertinent one, are you? You have a celestial bronze weapon in your hand, and you're a son of Neptune. A demigod."_

"_Um, right. What is a demigod?" _

_Lupa sniffed me. Then she jumped back and snarled. Her pack surrounded me. _

_She spoke again. "You are a familiar face. Of course. It makes sense now. You're Perseus Jackson. Son of Poseidon. A demigod hero. You're a graecus, are you not? You're lucky to still be alive. Lost your memories, huh?"_

_Yeah. That's my name. Perseus Jackson. But I go by a nickname…PERCY. That's it. Percy Jackson. Son of Poseidon. But Graecus? What is that? But these wolves were creeping me out. I turned to go, and the wolves cleared a path for me. They were looking at the ground, but they probably were imagining me as their next meal. Fried fish. Fried son of Poseidon. What's the difference? _

_After I passed the last wolf in line, I sprinted away from them. It was totally silent for a matter of…2 seconds. Then I heard growling and snarling behind me. They were pursuing me. They had let me get a headstart. This is some kind of hunt. I got Anaklus-…Riptide out and kept sprinting. I heard Lupa's voice in my head. "Cowardice will get you nowhere but the grave. Use your senses. Your homing radar. Find your way. Use your six senses." _

_Six? I might not remember anything, but I could've sworn we had five senses. "Yes, fool, six. Sight, smell, taste, touch, hearing, and sensing. If you don't use those, you'll die, Jackson." _

_I was still running away. Then I got angry, and stopped. How was she going to bully me into playing her little games? I don't know who I am, but I sure as hell ain't nobody's pawn in a game. _

_Lupa laughed a little. "That's good. Get angry. It'll help you survive." _

_I gritted my teeth. It was pitch black in the forest. Normal forest noises were commencing around me. So sight was out my options. My eyes were wide open, struggling to see something…anything._

_I got Riptide into what I thought was a battle stance. Suddenly something hit me to the ground. It was pitch black, so I just fell down into darkness and hit the ground. I swung Riptide blindly. Lupa had to do her little commentary._

"_Pathetic. You're going to die. My wolves don't show any mercy. I can smell your fear." _

_So this actually seems like some kind of test. And it's one I can't afford to fail. So I held Riptide with two hands in front of me. And closed my eyes._

_I inhaled slowly. I could smell humidity in the air. But it was a clear night when I first woke up. Someone…or something…is sweating out here. The wolves. They're near. I inhaled again, and the smell nearly flooded my nose. I heard a crunching of a leaf, then silence. I swung Riptide, and it connected with a heavy animal in the air. A wolf. The wolf yelped, and I stabbed it. _

"_One down. Five to go." _

_I had Riptide out. I had six wolves to kill? Oh. Has to do with my 'six senses'. I took two steps. I was doing great. Until I gracefully ran right into a tree. After I got over the pain, I felt the layer of a tree. An oak tree. A strong one, from the feel of it. I was saying to myself, "Careful. Oak trees are really strong. Several wolves could hang here." _

_As I was saying that, some dust and rocks fell in my mouth. I spit it out frantically. I didn't aim to see how oak dust tasted. But…you can't have moving dust if there's no movement. I looked up. Found another one of them. I felt like one of them reality shows. _

_As I was brushing the dust out my mouth, I felt air bend on my tongue. I closed my mouth quickly and swung Riptide in a golden arc. It connected again, thank God. There was the familiar yelp, and walked until I felt the body on the ground. I stabbed it, and that was the end of that. I was pretty sure these were immortal wolves, especially since they were sent to kill me, so I had no problem attacking them._

_I had 4 more to go. I still had my eyes closed. _

_I listened. I was going to use hearing now. I listened out. I heard slight panting. Then, I heard a huge growl behind me. This was too easy. I turned around and swung Riptide to behead to attacking wolf. _

_Then, after that, I had a novel idea. Isn't my sword the type of weapon that glows in the dark? It being…what's it called..celestial bronze? I held out Riptide out and looked at the sword. Sure enough, it illuminated the forest within 3 inches of the sword. I used that to illuminate my path for a while until I saw a footprint. I bent down. The footprint was freshly made. I then saw a flash out the corner of my eye. I turned around quickly. Then, out the darkness, a wolf leapt at me. I knocked it away with my sword, but I felt a searing biting pain in my opposite leg. _

_That's because it was a biting. I used my sword to illuminate the animal. Another wolf was biting me. I kicked that one off and ran my sword through its body. _

_Then, as my sword was still in the other wolf, the first wolf that leapt at me tackled me. I was weaponless. It had its claws on my chest, constricting my breathing. I kicked it in the air, then tackled it. We wrestled, human and wolf, truly a battle of the jungle. We rolled around in mud. As I was wrestling it, I felt over the wolf's body. I could feel it inhaling and exhaling. And found its pressuring point. In its neck. So we kept wrestling a little bit…until the wolf bit me in my shoulder. _

_It was like a clamp…it wouldn't let go. And did I mention it hurt? So I grabbed its neck, and squeezed the backside of it. The wolf stiffened, then went slack. I tossed it off me and tore off my shirt. I ripped it and wrapped it around my wounded shoulder to create a sort of cast. _

_I only had one more to go. I closed my eyes. Lupa was gone. That meant that this last one was Lupa. She was the hardest. It was dead silent. She was going to neutralize all my other senses. If she really wanted me dead, I would be dead. I thought about stuff. There was this one blond girl that kept popping up in my mind, for some reason the name Annabeth goes with the face. Annabeth. Annabeth Chase. Daughter of…who? DAMMIT. I can't think of who it is. Stop it. You're hunting the wolf goddess. Don't get preoccupied. _

_It was pitch black. I sprinted. I ran, and somehow, I could sense rocks and trees where their positioning was, so I was able to avoid them._

_ Suddenly, I felt a tingling in the back of my skull that ran down my body. Danger. Behind me. NOW. I turned around and swung Riptide instinctively. Impact. Lupa cried out and went to the ground. Then, suddenly, the moon came out and the stars lit up, lighting up the whole forest. There were like 18 wolves surrounding me. Lupa got up. "Impressive, demigod. Six senses. You must use them to be successful in your battles. I deem you worthy. Let me teach you the other things."_

_And she did. She taught me how to master the six senses, how to be soundless in the forest when stalking prey, how to blend in with the surroundings, how to strike and kill with one attack, taught me experienced agility skills, taught me how to increase my strength and use it to my advantage, how to feel at home in the shadows, how to balance on the smallest of areas, how to leap and run and pass any type of obstacle course. She taught me how to be a fearless, dark adversary. Until Hera came and wiped that out again. And I came to the Roman Camp. I only retained part of the memories. _


	8. Chapter 8

Hestia took her finger off my forehead. Damn, that was a long flashback. I even felt stronger right now after watching that.

Hestia smiled. "So what did you learn from her?"

"…I see your point."

Hestia smiled again and nodded. "Good. But still tell me."

"She said that if I employed all those techniques, I'll be unbeatable. No enemy would stay in my way. Too bad Hera wiped all those memories out…oh." Hestia was looking at me with expectancy in her eyes, like a teacher would when you start to make a good point and their eyes light up as if saying, _"Go on, go on. Enlighten us." _

"…well, Hestia, he's different. He's not like any other monster or swordsman. He knows what I'm doing before I do it. He can think like me. And he has a ruthless edge to him that I lack."

Hestia shook his head as if the teacher just deflated and just said, _No, No, wrong point. You can sit down now." _

"Didn't Hera wipe the memories from you? Weren't you totally lost before I showed you the flashback? Think about it, Jackson. He's nothing but an unique, strong, adversary. You have the advantage now."

I didn't have anything to say. She had a good point. Hestia poked her fire with the stick and it shot up to 20 feet again. I jumped back and fell off the log. That earned a laugh from Hestia. "You're humorous, Perseus. Definitely not like your namesake. He was a cocky son of a-"

"WOAH, watch that language."

"I was just going to say 'Son of a Minotaur'. What did you think I was going to say?"

"…nothing. Never mind. You know, Hestia, you have a point. I'm going to go down there and show Perseus who's the real Percy Jackson." I started to get up, but Hestia looked at me and I sat down hesitantly.

"Not yet, Perseus. You must have a plan. Did you not learn anything from your girlfriend, daughter of Athena?"

The mere mention of Annabeth with that fake made me angry and ache with pain and sadness at the same time.

"…right. What's the plan?"

Hestia gestured towards the tree. There was a full outfit hanging on one of the branches. It was like a full black bodysuit with a hood. Then on top of that, attached to it, was some lightweight black Greek armor on the chest, shin, thigh, and arm areas.

"My suggestion is that you go in cautiously. Use your newfound strength, speed, and stealth abilities and combine them with your old powers to disguise yourself. Keep Perseus close to you. Watch him. And watch over Camp Half-Blood. Didn't Lupa teach you stealth? Well, with this dark colored suit, you should be able to do that easily. The hood, when you put it on, automatically covers your face in a complete shadow so no one can see your face. No one from the outside can take off the hood. Only you can enjoy that luxury. I do this because since your twin already has your identity down, you're going to be someone else. A vigilante. A dark Greek hero. I will turn your sword black and give you another matching sword for your other arm. Two swords are twice as dangerous. Try to conceal your water powers, for then you would have to come up with something on the fly of why you were displaying powers of a son of Poseidon. When the time comes, and you'll know, devise a detailed plan to kill your twin once and for all and execute it. Show your face at the end to let everyone know. I will be watching over you to help you."

I just stared at her. That plan was just so…badass. Like, she's going to turn me into the Batman or something. I nodded. "Just one question…why are you doing this for me?"

Hestia bore into my eyes. "Because I do not like when people get credit from things that they didn't do. And you have a good heart, Percy. I do this to protect you."

I swear, I had some dust in my eye that I had to wipe out. Hestia was actually helping me out. And it's pretty awesome too. I…had always seen her as the meek goddess, standing out the picture, but in reality she's actually awesome.

I stood up and struck a ridiculous Hercules pose. "I'm going to call myself…Whirpool! Faster than a speeding swordfish, Stronger than a whale, able to control large portions of water. It's a fish! It's a submarine! It's…WHIRPOOL!"

Hestia rolled her eyes. "Nothing of the superhero type, Jackson. The main reason is to take the glory away from Perseus, get a good reputation as a dark, mysterious hero, watch Perseus and make sure he doesn't do anything ridiculous, then take him out the picture once and for all."

I walked over to the tree and picked up the outfit. It was smooth fabric that was lightweight and good for fighting in. I looked on the back and there was a huge zipper. I zipped it open and stepped into the outfit. Of course, it fit perfectly. The zipper disappeared.

I got all my body parts into the right positions, and looked at Hestia. My hood was not on yet. "Well? How does it look? Does it exactly set a fashion trend?"

Hestia raised her eyebrow. "Not quite…here." She tossed me two black swords…two copies of Riptide. They were black and clear…not quite sure how to describe it, but it looked like a black diamond. Black, but clear.

I twirled and swung both swords. They were perfectly balanced in both hands. It started to rain, and thunder resonated in the sky. Hestia looked up. "Well, that's my cue. I've intervened a little too much in mortal affairs. Remember, stick to the plan. Don't reveal yourself prematurely, or else the whole plan is ruined. They'll take you as the evil one, and attack you as such."

I nodded and when I blinked, she was gone. It started to pour. I was actually tired of these female weather patterns that loved to change every minute.

I looked to the sky. Rain buffeted my face. I screamed at the sky. I just needed to let it out.

After I finished with that nice release of testosterone, I put my hood on, and I could tell that my face was enveloped in total darkness because I couldn't see my face anymore. You know how you can see your lips, nose, cheeks, and eyelashes a little bit? Well, I couldn't see those anymore. I could just see.

So I put my hood up, put the black gloves on, took up my two swords, and scaled a tree like it was nothing. I was in the top branch. I used my homing radar. The sea was not too far to the west. Camp Half-Blood is opposite of the sea. So the Camp's to the East. I sheathed my swords in the holding containers on my back that were crossed like an 'X'. I leapt to one tree, then to another. And I headed East. Camp, here I come.


	9. Chapter 9

Percy

I was running, leaping and climbing in the branches of trees. I was nimble as a wolf. Those memories that Hestia had showed me...I didn't even know I still had those. Hera had wiped them from my mind because she didn't think it was important.

I jumped the distance from one tree to the other. I sensed something following me. It was on the ground. I leapt to the ground and got my two swords out. I closed my eyes, and blocked everything out. And I heard...breathing. Behind me. Was it an ambush? I sniffed the air and smelled...wait...that's familiar...isn't that...sugar cubes?

"Come on out, pegasus. There's only one type of creature I know who likes sugar cubes."

Sure enough, a huge black pegasus comes walking out of the shadows of the trees.

I looked at it curiously. The pegasus started backing up a little. I could understand its thoughts. _T__ry me, man. I know karate. You going to try to take my money? I'm going to take your dignity then. Come on, man__. _

I realized I must've looked slightly intimidating with no face. I removed the hood and looked at the horse. "I'm not going to hurt you."

The horse suddenly bucked and reared. It was excited.

I jumped back with the two swords in my hand to brace for any attack, but I heard in my head, _Boss! What's up, man? I finally found you! _It IS Blackjack. The horse galloped towards me and nuzzled me while I hugged him. I sure missed him...he's one of the only things I have left from my old life. One of the only things that Perseus didn't steal. I was curious about one thing.

"Blackjack, what are you doing out here?"

_Ah, boss, I knew that fake wasn't you. Especially when he wouldn't give me any sugar cubes? I had to get out of there. Search for you. _

I smiled. I really did miss him. But I had to keep moving. I started to jog east. "You know I spoil you, right? That's why you're so fat."

Blackjack trotted to keep up and hit me with his wings playfully. _Now you calling me fat. Wait...why are you running? And dressed like someone off of Assassin's Creed?_

I looked down at my outfit. I definitely didn't look like someone from the Assassin's Creed. Did I?

"Look, Blackjack, I'm just laying low for a while. My...evil twin...has the advantage right now. Everyone thinks that he's me. So I'm going to watch over my friends over here from the shadows. Help them out if they need it. Perseus is going to slip up. I know it. And when he does, I'll spring at the opportunity."

_Yeah, that's great and everything boss, but just one question. _

"Yeah?"

_Why in the world are we jogging? _I just looked at him.

I hopped on his back and put back on my hood. "To Camp. And to my friends."

Blackjack took off and soared through the skies. Just like old times. We flew over the clouds. Hopefully no people on the ground were out hunting in the forest or something and point at the sky and pass out or something. That's happened before.

The rain attacked both of us as we flew. We flew for a good thirty minutes. I was grateful that he was here because I don't know how long it would've taken me on foot. We were flying and suddenly we both went into free fall. Blackjack stopped flying and we both fell towards the ground. And to be honest, I was screaming like a little girl. 18 years old. Hell yeah.

Then Blackjack recovered and caught me on his back and kept flying. I had to scream over the wind in our ears."BLACKJACK? YOU OKAY?"

_Yeah, boss...I'm...fine..._

"Let's land this thing." Blackjack didn't protest as we landed to take a break. I felt bad for winding the old horse out. I made a silent promise to myself to feed him some sugar cubes when all this blows over.

Then...I felt danger. Coming. Approaching quickly. Something big. Headed towards Camp Half-Blood.

I hopped on Blackjack. "LET'S GO! NOW!" Blackjack woke up in an instant and started galloping. Then he took flight and we were out. We flew for like 5 minutes until Blackjack landed. _We're here, boss. _

Sure enough, I saw the sign. We were here. And it hadn't changed. Campers running around, with swords and training dummies. People trying to learn how to shoot arrows. I emphasize 'trying' because I'm sure that the arrow is not supposed to go backwards. Not like I could do much better.

Anyway, Blackjack and I trotted into camp. I felt right at home. The screams, the battle cries, swords clanging against each other, the jokes, and above all, the friendship. As we went through the camp, everyone stopped and stared at the shadowed man and his shadowy horse. We rode to the head cabin, and I stopped Blackjack there. "Take a break, buddy. You did good."

I walked into the Big House to Chiron and Annabeth talking in hushed tones. As I approached the door, I could hear their voices.

"I'm telling you, Chiron, it's not Percy. Percy doesn't act the way he is."

"That's no reason to go and assume that it's Percy's evil clone. Young people have phases these days."

"Chiron...you don't understand...he left a child to _die _out there during the Stymphalian bird attack. I don't know who he is...he's done some other things..."

What other things? Perseus left a child to die? How dare he. Did she die? What happened? I walked in and they stopped conversating. Annabeth looked amazing, her shoulder-length blonde hair, pretty face, and gray eyes. I had the urge to just run up to her and kiss her. But that wouldn't be right.

Anyway, Chiron and Annabeth were just staring at me with wary faces on. I suppose you can't be the most welcoming to a person with no face. I purposely spoke in a scratchy, quiet voice.

"There is something coming. A monster. You would do well to prepare for it."

Chiron looked weary. I felt bad for him, having to manage all these teenage demigods. Annabeth spoke for him. "What are you talking about? Who's coming? How do you know? Did you see it? If so, what did it look like? If not, how do you know it's coming?" She bombarded me with those questions like typical Annabeth. I smiled underneath my hood, but they couldn't see that.

"I just know that there's one coming."

"How would you know that?"

"Are you saying I'm a liar?"

"I'm just saying that you have no proof that there is a monster coming. What if you're the monster and trying to trap us?"

She was clenching and unclenching her fists the way she does when she argues with somebody she doesn't like. Oh good. She doesn't like me. I sighed.

"You don't want to trust me, fine. But don't say I didn't warn you." I turned to go.

"Who are you?" I turned to see Annabeth standing with her hands on her hips waiting for the answer to her question. Gods, she looked pretty. Perseus had better not have done anything wrong to her.

I looked at her, and spoke in that voice again. It's kinda like that Batman voice if any of you have watched the recent Batman movies. Hey, let's face it, I always wanted to be Batman. Annabeth asked again, "Who are you? Answer me."

I smiled under my hood. "A friend."

Lightning struck outside, and thunder followed immediately after. It would've been a good touch to my last statement if I did it on purpose. This kind of weather at Camp Half-Blood only takes place when there's a monster nearby. Annabeth and Chiron looked at me. Chiron's eyes bore into me as if he knew who I was and was just laughing. Like you see your kid dressed in a costume, but you still know it's them.

Annabeth looked at me with fear in her eyes. It was well concealed, but I've been with her long enough to take notice.

"Don't be afraid. I will protect this camp." I looked at her, daring her to say something.

Annabeth looked shocked and was about to protest when Chiron cut her off, "Let him do his thing. Go fight this threat. I will send our best warriors out to be on your side in the battle. Go now, before it's too late. I nodded, and looked at Annabeth one last time. In her eyes was fear, determination, pride, and planning. That's my Annabeth. She drew her dagger.

I sensed danger. "Careful", I said when I sensed it. The door opened and all three of us got into a battle position. It stayed open for half a second to leave us in suspense, and Perseus walked in with the Camp T-shirt on. I gritted my teeth just looking at him.

He looked at Annabeth, to Chiron, to me, back to Annabeth, and to me. "Um, am I interrupting something? Because it seems like trouble outside...and in here." Annabeth looked at him with emotionless eyes. Did she finally realize the truth? Did she suspect he was someone else?

Chiron spoke. "We were just gathering our forces with this new visitor to combat this coming threat. I planned to have you and him be side by side, since you're our best warrior."

I said, "No."

Everyone looked at me curiously. Annabeth raised her eyebrow. I looked back at everybody.

"I'm a solo act."

Annabeth looked at me with something in her face...pride? Satisfaction? I don't know. There were screams outside.

Annabeth and I both ran out on instinct when we heard the screams. Perseus trailed behind us. We were outside in the pouring rain. I sensed a huge danger coming through the northern parts of the woods. I stood right in front of the place where I sensed the danger. It was suspense. Annabeth stood at my side. Perseus came up behind us and pushed Annabeth out the way. "Get to the cabin."

Annabeth cried out, tripped over some rock, and fell down. Everything went slow motion when Annabeth started to fall. I pushed Perseus out the way, slid baseball style on the wet mud, and caught Annabeth before her head could hit the ground. I carried her up with me, and she hung onto me like she was afraid to let go. Like she used to do with me. Perseus scowled darkly at me. Yeah, that's right. You're not Percy Jackson. We stared each other down. He has no right to be touching her like that. Annabeth spoke up, "Let me leave before I slip and fall on the excess testosterone here."

The sound of her voice snapped me out my staredown and I looked towards the clearing where I sensed the danger.

Then, a huge bull bursts out of the clearing, running over trees. Only it wasn't just some bull. It was my favorite monster. The Minotaur. Only, he had armor and a sword. To go along with it. A solid 12 feet tall, the Minotaur stopped running and calmly stood in the Camp boundaries, which he wasn't supposed to be able to do. Someone would've had to given him special permission to do such a thing...I couldn't finish my thought because the Minotaur spoke. To Perseus. "Ah, Perseus Jackson. My favorite enemy."

Perseus growled and got out Narmekushio, which was now colored golden to resemble Riptide. "Try me, little cow." Perseus charged. It was weird to see him in action because it was my body, yelling in my voice, making my jokes. He ran at him, then slid under his legs. He popped up behind the bull and stabbed him in the back. The Minotaur growled and backslapped Perseus so he flew a good 30 feet and crashed into a tree. Annabeth cried out, "Percy!"

I turned my head towards her when she called my name, but luckily, she didn't see it. The Minotaur picked Perseus up and threw him to the ground. My twin wasn't going to last too long even if he is invulnerable. He's going to land on his weak spot sooner or later, and that's going to be the end of him. Still, I don't like seeing anyone die when I can help it. I ran out to distance myself from everyone.

"Hey, slimy bucket of nose drool!" I grinned when I heard Annabeth scream and cover her mouth when she heard her quote way back in our quest in the Sea of Monsters.

That was the good news. Bad news is, the Minotaur turned its attention towards me, lowered its head, and charged full speed at me. If you've ever had a Minotaur charge at you full speed, believe me, it's going to be the scariest experience of your life.

I want to say that I stood there and battled him. I want to say that I held my ground like a hero and died a valiant battle. Truth is...I did better than both of them. I'm not 16 anymore. I'm 18 years old. I can't be turning back and running every time some big monster comes at me. I thought back to Annabeth's accurate accusation of me at the time. _Yes. You're a coward, Percy Jackson! _

I was tired of running. I don't know what got into me. I took off my lightweight battle boots so I was barefoot. I sunk into the ground about a half foot to give myself a little sturdiness. The Minotaur was getting closer. I dropped my two swords and got my gloved hands out as if I was getting ready to wrestle. The Minotaur came closer, and closer, and closer...until his horns rammed into my gloves. I stopped him cold.

We were in equilibrium. None of us could get the advantage. He was pressing down on me with his horns, and I was pushing his horns up. It was a test of strength. His whole body weight and momentum was going through that attack. It was like a two ton truck running into you at 70 mph. That's how it felt. We struggled to get an edge, but neither of us got one...until he started pushing even farther and farther down. I saw Perseus in the corner of my eye standing up, perfectly fine to help me, but watching the battle. Annabeth was trying to help me, but her friends were holding her back.

The Minotaur was winning. He pushed me down so much that I had to take a kneel to avoid breaking my arm. Wait. Hold up. I'm Percy Jackson. I'm the greatest hero of Greek history. I beat Ares in a fight. I beat Kronos and Hyperion. I was the half-blood of the Great Prophecy and was one of the heroes in the second Prophecy. I held the weight of the sky. I was as strong as Atlas. And I'm going to let this punk push me around? As I was thinking this, I pushed back stronger than ever. The Minotaur was pushed back so we were back in equilibrium on both sides. But I wasn't done yet. I kept pushing.

I have the best girlfriend in the entire world. I am the son of Poseidon. I was praetor of the Roman Camp, and leader of this Camp. I am the most feared name to my enemies. I...am...Percy...Jackson.

I pushed back so hard that the Minotaur fell on its back. I let go of his horns, leapt over the beast in a backflip, and in the same movement, ripped one of its horns off and stabbed it in the monster's chest. The Minotaur roared, and exploded in a shower of dust. It was silent. I stood up and dusted the golden residue of the Minotaur off me. I was aware of everybody staring at me. Still, complete silence. I calmly walked past Perseus and stared him down as I walked. When I was 10 feet past him, I heard, "The hell you looking at, man?"

I stopped, and turned around. Perseus was scowling at me. I grinned under the hood. I walked all the way back to him until we were face to face. I responded with that Batman voice of mine."I'm looking at a coward and a fool for rushing into battle without a plan, and when you were totally healthy to fight, you sat back and watched the action. And you're supposed to be the most powerful one? I don't think so. That's who I'm looking at. And frankly, I think I should be looking somewhere else because you're depressing."

I was in his face. I sensed his body tense up. He was going to do something. I stepped back like 3 feet as he was trying to punch me, making him swing and miss and look like a fool. When he missed, he missed so badly that he spun his body around. I heard snickers and laughs behind him. Oohhh. This was personal now. A matter of image from the cocky, evil man greedy for power and attention.

He got out 'Riptide' and swung at it my neck. I backed up again, making him miss again. He started to get frustrated, and as he got frustrated, he got sloppier. He swung once, twice, thrice, four times, five times, and missed them all. I dodged, ducked, jumped, evaded. He got up close, and attacked me with his sword. I didn't even have to look at him. I audibly yawned for emphasis.

Perseus' eyes widened in realization as I parried his attack effortlessly. He tried for another swipe, but I parried that also. He tried for a low blow, to take my legs from under me, but I jumped over the sword and kicked him in the chest. The impact was enough to throw him to the ground. He attacked me again with the sword, and I parried, twisted my sword so it dislodged the sword from his hand, and effectively disarmed him. His fake Riptide went scattering 20 feet from him.

Finally, in an effort to at least conserve some of his dignity, he resorted to tackling me. The rain made the hair on his face look like a shaggy dog, so he really looked evil when he was doing this. The sea green eyes still threw me off when I looked at them. Because that is what I could be if I went crazy, or hungry for power. Anyway, when he tried to tackle me, I kicked him in the face and he went down in the mud. Everyone was silent once again as I walked to the forest.

I was walking silently thinking about things, and when Camp Half-Blood was out of view, I said aloud, "I don't like being followed." Annabeth's face popped out of the trees and she scolded me. Like when I would leave the cereal out when I would finish my breakfast. I miss those times. But to be honest, these times are exhilarating. I almost missed this, the life and death situations. Annabeth yelled, "Who are you? You think you can march in here, save the camp, then beat up our biggest hero? Who do you think you are?"

I saddled up Blackjack and replied in the husky voice, "A friend."

"I'm tired of you saying that. Maybe if you actually talked to me, I might know you a little bit better!"

My heart warmed when she said that. Her blond hair was wet and sticky from sweat, and she had dirt and grime marks on her face. But she still looked like the love of my life that I would marry in a second.

She just stared at me with those piercing gray eyes of hers. She didn't seem at all terrified by my faceless and hooded outfit. "You know, my mom told me about talking to strangers."

I looked at her. I spoke my reply in the diguised, raspy voice, "I'm not a stranger."

And I sprinted away from her in the dark forest, back to my home in the shadows. For now.

Good things are: saved Camp from Minotaur, had a conversation with my girlfriend, and humiliated my evil twin in front of the whole camp. Technically, that means I humiliated myself also, but I can live with that. Yep. Just a typical day of an unemployed 18 year old.


	10. Chapter 10

Percy

Gods, Annabeth is tiring to deal with. But that's one of the reasons I love her. She keeps me on my feet. I was resting in a tree. It was 3:00 at night. Strangely, I didn't feel tired. Maybe Hestia knows that I sleep in late and when I wake up I instinctively hit the alarm clock even if it's not actually there, and might end up knocking some innocent squirrel out.

I was totally still. It was still raining. The rain felt good on my skin. I took off my hood and tousled my hair. Luckily, it was still long and luscious.

Then, I sensed danger. I rolled to one branch of the tree just as a knife impaled the part of the tree I was just in. I put the hood up and back-flipped from that branch to the ground. That was a mistake. I could sense that I was surrounded. I reached at my back and pulled out my two Riptides.

A bunch of girls walked out the woods and notched their bow and arrows at me. I heard a voice belonging to an unseen girl. "Identify yourself, stranger." I grinned. Is that my new nickname from now on?

So these were the Hunters. Sure enough, each girl was pretty and had a sort of silver aura to show that they were immortal. One of the girls bucked at me. "Hands up, stranger."

I held my battle position. There was no way that they were going to tell me what to do, especially since I didn't like their group. Only Zoe Nightshade, and Thalia. One of the girls said in sort of a pleading voice, "Please. Put your hands up, drop the swords, and just chill."

I raised my hands slowly and dropped my swords. So there I was, hands up, weaponless, in the pouring rain. The Hunters looked relieved that I followed their commands. To an extent.

I then slowly reached into my pocket and pulled out...a plastic cup. The Hunters' faces were priceless. I looked at them and spoke in my raspy voice. "I'm just...getting...a drink of water. Is that fine?" The Hunters' faces were still afraid and wary. I held the cup up and water filled it to the brim. I raised my other hand for emphasis as I slowly drank my water. The Hunters were as tense as they could be. I drank the cup of water, and dropped the cup.

One of them, a cocky one, spoke up, "That's right, male. You will announce your busine-"

She stopped when I looked at her. "Just...chill." I said in my raspy voice. When I said 'chill', the ice cold rainwater gathered into a wave and swept over the Hunters, knocking them into trees and sweeping them away from me. It gave me much needed room.

I picked up my two swords. I sensed one trying to stab me behind me. I back-flipped over her and kicked her in her back. She turned around and pulled out a full length sword. She wasn't as experienced with that as she was with the bow and arrow. She made a sloppy strike that I easily parried and with one flick of my wrist, I disarmed her. I held the sword to her throat. She sneered under it as if she expected me to kill her. I just knocked her aside and ran. I just started something I didn't want to finish.

I stopped running. I heard breathing...heavy breathing. I could smell the sweat on their brows and I could sense the tension in the air. I _was _surrounded. 10 Hunters came out the clearing with knives, swords, and bow and arrows. I spun my Riptides around. Then one of them attacked me, and they all attacked. I had enemies coming from all possible sides. North, Northeast, Northwest, South, Southeast, Southwest, East, West, and two archers in branches.

The one that attacked first had a sword. A silvery glow enveloped her and all her other Hunters. This made them impossibly quick, strong, and nimble. This one was a brunnette, so I'll call her...Brownie. Brownie ran at me with her sword up. I sighed. She should really take swordfighting classes. Taught by, yours truly. I kicked her knees, buckling them and making her fall to the ground. I couldn't help it.

"Sorry!"

The second one looked just like the third one, so I'll call them Twin. Twin #1 had two knives. She ran at me, and I was looking to stun her by hitting her legs with the flat of my sword, but at the last second, she leaped in the air and kicked me in the chest. As I was flying through the air, and I threw Riptide on a frozen rope at her. It impaled her in her thigh, and she cried out and went down.

Oh no. What have I done. I threw off my hood and ran at her. The rest of the Hunters automatically moved towards me in a hostile manner when they saw that I was a male approaching their fallen comrade. Twin #2 cried out, "Get away from her, male! This is your fault!"

I forgot all about my raspy voice. So I spoke in my regular tone. "Hey, are you okay?" Twin #1 nodded weakly, then passed out. I took the sword out her thigh, and rested her up against a tree. The Hunters didn't know what to do with that. Twin #2 looked like she was about to explode. After I had gotten her sister into a comfortable position, I looked at the impaling sword. It was covered in blood. I don't do that. I threw the sword to the side so I only had one sword. Much more comfortable. Twin #2 and a new one, blondie, attacked at the same time. Twin #2 threw her knife at me, and I could sense Blondie shooting an arrow at me from behind me.

Everything went into slow motion. I dropped the sword. I caught the knife as it was traveling like 80 mph towards me before it impaled me in the chest, and without looking, I reached out my hand and caught the arrow coming behind me. I leaped in the air right after catching the arrow, and threw the knife at Blondie and the arrow at Twin at a velocity that was not matched. The knife knocked Blondie's bow and arrow out her hand, and the arrow pinned Twin #2's shirt to a tree, effectively pinning her as well.

I looked at Twin. "I told you I didn't want to fight. I'm just a traveler."

Twin looked painfully at her sister, who was now sleeping among the tree. I looked at the leader, which turned out to be Blondie. I had always thought that Thals was the leader of the Hunters, but apparently there is more than one group.

So I looked at Blondie. Her hair reminded me of Annabeth's. Gods, how I missed her. I was doing this all for her in a way. To get her back in my life as my girl. I wonder if she knew that. I hope she does. Or she will.

"I'm truly sorry. What…can I do to repay you? Please, anything."

The other Hunters sneered and laughed at the notion of having a male do a favor for them. It would make sense. They're women who believe that they are independent, and devoid of any need of a man in their life. But still, I felt like I needed to pay up for what I did. Defeated them all, humiliated them and their beliefs. Injured one of their comrades. Frightened them with my little guise.

Even though the other Hunters were scoffing at the idea, Blondie looked at me carefully. Warily. "What are your skills? You must have some tot be able to defeat multiple Hunters."

I stared at her. Should I tell her the truth? I should. I owe them that much. "I'm a son of…Neptune. I do water. I can control it, bend it to my will. I get stronger in it and become more powerful when touching it. I can also do things that my father, the Earthshaker, can do. And I fight with this sword. Pretty much it."

Blondie stared me down. "There is one thing. We're hunting a…scorpion. A giant one. It's going around terrorizing people. You could repay your debt by helping us."

I grinned. Now that was something I had done before. Except that was with a crab.

"Yeah, I'll help you. You can count on me." And I put my hood up, and next thing I know, I was leading the Hunters into battle.


	11. Chapter 11

Percy

The scorpion was kind of hard to miss, considering it was stomping through the forest and squealing. It was pretty disgusting close up. I led the Hunters up in the forest. We were going to strike like wolves. Quickly. Silently. Stealthily.

We were in the trees, watching it sleep. Scorpions have very tense nerves, so if we made one noise, one mistaken sound, it'll wake up and attack. I had my hood back up, and it was still raining. I got my single Riptide out. My other copy of the sword was in the sheath on my back, just in case I needed it. So we were in the trees surrounding the animal. I looked at all the Hunters in the trees with me. I spoke in the soft, raspy voice again. I don't know why, I guess I just like it. It makes me feel like a bad-ass.

"No…sudden…moves. Until I say so." The Hunters looked at me. I put my finger to my mouth. Then, I heard a loud, cheerful voice. "Hey guys! Wait up! It's me! Sorry I'm late!"

I turned and saw a girl with straight, black hair and a cheerful face. But she didn't seem like the smart one out the bunch. I saw Blackie running on the branches. All the Hunters were waving their hands over their head and gesturing her to stop and be quiet, but Blackie didn't get it. She focused on what they were saying, and not where she was stepping. She stepped right through a gap in the branches, and took a long fall to the ground. Of course, she screamed and made a loud impact. The scorpion jumped up and roared.

The Hunters cursed in Greek, and got their weapons ready. My heart stopped. They froze up in fear. Hunters _never _freeze up.

The Scorpion snatched Blackie up in its pincers and opened its grimy disgusting mouth. The Hunters gasped and screamed. Foam and saliva coated its mouth. It threw Blackie in the air to get ready to eat her. As Blackie was flying in the air, I threw the bloody sword as an act of desperation. In a reversal of the normal Jackson luck, it lodged perfectly in the creature's mouth, forcing its mouth past its comfort zone. The Scorpion now had its disgusting mouth locked in the position of wide open.

No matter how dimwitted she might be, Blackie had some tricks up her sleeve too. When the sword landed in the creature's mouth, she still fell towards the mouth. She pushed off the sword in the scorpion's mouth and jumped away from the animal. When she pushed off it, it forced the sword down the Scorpion's esophagus. Considering that the sword is indestructible, let's just say it had some disgusting indigestion problems. It puked up its whole week's worth of food, including armor and leftover warriors in the stomach. I almost lost my lunch also.

After it finished puking, it screamed at us. "NOW!" I yelled.

We jumped out of our positions of the trees and attacked. The scorpion's tail shot up and knocked out like 4 of our warriors. I ran up and it tried to snap me up in its pincers, but I jumped at the last second. I landed on the creature's claw, and ran up its body to the monster's head. Blondie shot an arrow in the creature's eye, and Brownie, awake and healthy, shot one into the other eye. The scorpion roared, and I took my chance. I stabbed the sword in its mouth, the one soft spot of the animal considering it was covered in armor. The scorpion screamed some more and melted into golden dust, prompting me to fall to the ground. There we go. The normal Jackson luck.

The Hunters, instead of congratulating me of how great I was, stared at the creature's vomit. I almost puked again. They were poking through the substance with their swords. Then something moved in there and they all screamed and jumped back. I got Riptide ready, but a figure stood up and looked at their slime covered body. Since it was still raining, I used a wave to give the person a quick shower. It washed the slime off them until it showed a familiar face.

Blondie bowed at the soaking wet…girl. All the other Hunters followed Blondie, and knelt reverently at the figure. The girl tossed back her dark brown hair to show…Reyna.

I backed up from her. Reyna stared at me. She looked pretty much the same as when I had first met her a couple years ago, but her body had fully matured from a 16 year old's, and not like I was complaining. She was leader of the Hunters now? I didn't have time to speak because she drew her sword. "Speak, dark stranger. Who are you?"

I was tempted to throw off my hood and yell 'Hey, Reyna! It's me, Percy Jackson! I'm in hiding because my evil clone took my place, so instead of being the leader of Camp Half-Blood, he kicked my ass and forced me into the forest where I'm acting as a dark vigilante!'

But I had a feeling that wouldn't blow over well.

Instead, I drew my sword and got ready to fight. I had to keep my façade up as a dark, fearless, protector. It was good to see her again…I'm not going to lie. Honestly, I was really curious to see how Reyna fought. I've never fought her before. Blondie stood up and put her hand on Reyna's shoulder to calm her down, but Reyna, being Reyna, shrugged her off and charged at me.

I grinned and charged at her. She leapt _over _my head and kicked me in the back of my skull. I started seeing spots and stumbled forward, but I sensed her trying to finish me off. I parried her strike behind me without looking, and turned around so we were face to face, at a standstill. She feinted at my side, and I fell for it. She took advantage and kicked me hard in the face even if she didn't see it. I staggered and she tried to stab me in the chest, but I _caught _the sword. I'm talking about she was stabbing me, and my hands went on both sides of the sword and stopped it. I threw it to the side. She was defenseless. But she's a Hunter. And more importantly, a Roman. She's been fighting all her life, so she's literally an expert at technically 18 years old. I took up sword-fighting at 12, because my history teacher tossed a random pen at me. This was a challenge that I like. Except for the talking part. It's so serious. She faked a kick and backflipped away from me, and in the motion of her second flip, grabbed her sword from the ground and landed, armed and poised.

"You are an interesting adversary. Speak, stranger. Who are you? You do not answer, I will take you as an enemy and will kill you."

"I dare you."

Reyna growled and tried for a high strike. I parried and tried for a thrust. She, as expected, twisted her body and knocked the sword out of my hand. Of course, being a die hard Roman, she tried to finish me off. She tried a side swipe that I matrixed under, and kicked her legs out from under her. She fell in the mud gracefully (sarcasm). I jumped over her and slid dramatically to get Riptide. Luckily, if I didn't slide, I would've been dead because she had thrown a sword at me when she was falling that barely went over my nose. If it had been an inch lower, I would have some serious trouble smelling Mom's cooking next Christmas.

I slid in the mud, got Riptide and jumped up. My senses told me it was about 4:30 in the morning. The rain wasn't slowing up, but I could smell the decrease of humidity in the air. Reyna was weaponless in the mud, and I was perfectly armed. I walked over to her and she looked defeated. Dirt on her face, and rain washing it off, piercing silver eyes, wet hair, and a determined look on her face, she muttered, "Finish it."

I looked at her with my hood on. I was a hooded vigilante. That doesn't mean I have to change my personality. I walked over and took her sword out the tree it lodged in. I tossed it to her and she caught it in one hand. Showoff.

She stood up quickly, and charged me. I just stood there. When she was an inch away from cutting my head off, I made a decision. I took off my hood and stared in her eyes. She literally stopped her strike when the sword was touching my neck. "P-Percy Jackson! What…what are…you were really fighting me even though we were allies?" She sheathed her sword, but the murderous look in her eyes didn't falter.

"Hey, couldn't resist a good challenge." Reyna cracked a half smile, but it faded just as quickly. She hugged me tightly, then let go just as quickly. This girl got issues.

"I apologize. I forgot that I am with the Hunters. Team, can you go find me some food in this forest? I need some conversing time with this…male." The Hunters nodded as if they approved of the usage of the derogatory title of 'male' and scrambled throughout the forest. Reyna sniffed the air.

"That means you, Jessica." I heard a sigh, then a rustling of leaves, then silence.

Reyna fixed her silver eyes on me. I'm pretty sure that's an effect of being a Hunter. "So, Jackson. Want to tell me why you are running around the forest saving people from Giant scorpions and fighting your friends? In a dark, vigilante outfit?"

"Long story. What's more important, is why you're with the Hunters."

"An opportunity I couldn't resist. Having your combat abilities and physical attributes enhanced, working under Diana, having immortality, making good companionship with girls in similar situations, doing good in the world, what could be a better opportunity?"

"Friends. Family. Living a good life. Go to high school. Graduate. Find someone you love, and settle down. That's what would be better. If you really love this, you can do this on your own or make your own team."

Reyna looked uncomfortable. She looked like she would just as soon hug me as she would gut me with her knife I know she keeps on her person. "Let's just say, people don't think good of me anymore. My reputation has been tarnished."

"So you went into hiding. That's not the solution. Fix your reputation. You can't run-"

"Like you? Do not judge me Jackson, especially when you're in a similar situation."

I shut up. I hated it when I talked to females and they always won the argument.

"Plus, the person that I…love…is out of my life. That's a negative." We both knew she was talking about Jason. It was probably Octavian and his cowardly ass who spread rumors and framed Reyna for something. Everyone started to hate her. Jason went with Piper and I know they got married right at 18. And they went into battle against Perseus and got seriously injured. Forced out her praetorship, she couldn't take being one of the pack, having no say in politics and what happens. And being banned from missions. So Artemis' Roman form, Diana, offers her this position where she can be immortal and do all that, she can't help but take it. It promises adventure and leadership, her two specialties. And she gets herself over her head facing a huge Scorpion by herself and gets eaten. And I save her. So here we are.

Reyna was studying my expression. "You are an intelligent…man, Percy. I wish Rome would have more warriors and people like you."

I grinned. I screamed in the forest, "HEY EVERYBODY! Reyna just called me a man! Sound the alarms! Throw the parties! WOOOHHHH!"

Reyna face-palmed herself and whispered to get me to shut up. She smacked me and I was laughing. She tried to hold it in, but she burst out laughing at me too. I had that effect on girls. Especially pretty ones.

Reyna laughed again. "You are crazy, Jackson." Then she looked at me with the weirdest look. I had seen that look before…on Rachel's face before I left for the last Titan War a few years ago…and she _kissed _me. Oh, Hades no.

She leaned in and our faces were inches apart when I scooted clumsily under her, knocking her to the ground and tripping myself simultaneously. Graceful. Reyna stared at me.

"Jackson…." She stared at me with those silver eyes like she was making a decision whether or not to tell me. Then her eyes dimmed with relief. "…why are you out here? What's your story?"

I'm not going to lie; I was relieved that something didn't happen either. Artemis…I mean Diana….would've taken away her immortality, and I would've cheated on Annabeth even though we're not technically together.

"Umm, someone made an evil copy of me. He calls himself Perseus. Looks just like me…except…evil. He has his own agenda, he's framed me for the crimes he committed, and now he's at the Greek camp taking my own spot. And I'm out here watching him and planning to gradually show everybody that he's the fake and I'm the real one."

Reyna made a face. She didn't even seem fazed by the notion of someone cloning me and twisting my pure-hearted nature in the clone. Her only comment was:

"Gradually? Hate to break it to you, Jackson, but gradually never hurts. You have to take the initiative and take it from Perseus if you want your life and your friends back. In return for all the favors you've done for me over the years, I will help you with your quest."

I was hesitant. Someone like Reyna was a loose cannon. She was unpredictable, and that's the bad kind. You never know what she's going to do, kiss you or knife you, hug you or hurt you. But the look in her eyes showed me that I didn't have much of a choice. I sighed.

"Fine. But after all this blows over, we're going back and restoring your reputation."

Reyna smiled sadly. "Thank you, Jackson, but I'm afraid that's right next to impossible."

I grinned. "If there's anything I've learned from my whole life and dealing with you, it's that nothing's impossible. Nothing. If you apply yourself, the sky's the limit. Actually, Jupiter might shoot you down out of jealousy, so probably only the stratosphere."

Reyna laughed softly, and gave me a smile that caught me off-guard. She had a _great _smile. And she never showed it off.

"So it's set. But we can't do this alone-"

"What? Sure we can-"

"Calm down, Jackson. I'll make a couple calls, take a leave from the Hunters and help you out. We'll have a team going in no time."

She looked at me with that familiar determination in her eyes.

"Just give me a few minutes. And the team's going to need some of those suits like you have on, because those are kind of bad-ass. So order them."

I sighed.


	12. Chapter 12

Percy

After a series of calls and Iris-messages, we finally had our team of five. We had me, Reyna, Gwendolyn (the girl who died a few years back and came back to life after the war games) , and a few familiar faces; Leo and Piper. Reyna invited Jason under the guise of pure business, but his fiancée (cough, Piper, cough) came in his place since Jason was still injured from Perseus. He's on crutches, according to Reyna.

I felt slightly guilty because my evil twin handicapped him and Jason didn't deserve that. But honestly, I was satisfied with the turnout. I was formidable by myself, I already know that, Gwen got some tricks up her sleeve, Leo can control and generate fire and he's powerful, and Piper is a good combatant and a charmspeaker. And we had Reyna. So it was pretty good. I was kind of glad that Jason didn't come because that would be kind of awkward.

Anyway Leo and Piper came flying down on Festus, the bronze dragon Leo had tamed, him being a son of Hephaestus. Unlike other people, I respect Hephaestus. Ever since he saw and talked to me at Calypso's island and in the Labyrinth, he's had my respect. Festus landed hard on the ground, blasting the whole group to the ground.

When they saw me, they stared at me warily since I had my dark hood up. We got together at like 6:30 in the morning, but it was still raining. I bet that as soon as the good guys win, it'll clear up. I took off my hood and smiled at them. They backed up.

"Woah, it's the maniac son of Poseidon. Piper, knife out."

"I'm hearing you, Leo. This guy's insane."

"Look, guys…that guy who attacked you was my evil twin."

Piper made a face like, _Really? You want me to believe that? _

Leo laughed. "I got a lot of respect for this guy. Destroys his whole Greek camp and says that his evil twin did it. That's the excuse I would use at 5 years old. Respect, man, respect."

Piper hit him. Reyna spoke up. "I assure you that he is the real Percy Jackson. I've tested his morals without his knowing."

I looked at her. "Wait, what?"

Reyna smirked. "See?"

Piper walked up to me and looked in my eyes. I looked back in her color-changing eyes. Then she smacked me. Hard. I cringed and grabbed my cheek. Piper bent down; she was worried that I was hurt. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

She straightened me up and dusted me off. Then smacked me again. I bent down again. Leo cringed. "Man, Percy, I've been on the other side of her slaps. I would take a life-risking mission any day."

I got up and towered over her by at least 5 inches. "Are you done?"

"Yeah, just needed to get that out. And to test you." Then she hugged me. "I missed you, Jackson."

Now _this _was a 'haven't-seen-you-in-a-long-time embrace'. I smiled in her hug and spoke into her shoulder, "I missed you too, Pipeline."

Okay, I know, lame nickname, but that's what came to mind every time I heard that name. Piper. Pipeline.

Leo and Gwen stood over there with Reyna awkwardly. It got kind of awkward until Leo cleared his throat and Piper darted away from me. Ohhkkayyy. Strange. Anyway I looked at my group.

"Okay. So this is the team. Thanks for showing up. If you don't know, I have an evil twin running around going by Perseus-"

Leo did a playoff look. "Wait, you were serious?"

"-and he's bathed in the Styx. I've gone toe to toe with him two times. First time, we fought to sort of a standstill. I got knocked out by a mutual explosion and he was stunned. Only because he bathed in the Styx. Second time, I evaded him and he ended up making a fool out of himself. By his doing. Not mine."

Leo looked uncomfortable. Piper looked determined. Gwen looked like, _Why am I here? _Reyna looked at me with the weirdest expression in her face. Look, I'm bad at facial deciphering so don't judge me.

Piper piped up. Haha. Get it? Okay…never mind. "Wait, so you saying that your twin, the one that attacked us at your camp, bathed in the Styx?"

I nodded.

"Didn't you have the curse of Achilles at one point?"

"Yeah. Where are you going with this?"

"Well, how did you lose it?"

I thought about that. I carried Hera because it was some kindness thing and I crossed…the…the…

"You're talking about the River Tiber?"

"Yes. It worked on you, why not get him to that River, call on the gods, and take away his curse. Hey, not all children of Aphrodite are dumb blondes…no offense to blondes."

Reyna curled up her lip in disgust and muttered, "But all children of Aphrodite are weak."

Piper looked at Reyna. "What did you say, home-wrecker?"

Leo made an _O _with his mouth and said, "Well, okay then, time to calm down here."

Reyna stood up and drew her knife. "The doll wants to challenge me, let her." Leo had to hold Piper back, who was shouting out names I can't repeat.

But I thought about Piper's idea. It could work. It definitely could work. Then we would be on equal grounds. Of course, I would still have to fight my best to beat him because he's just as good as I am. I looked at Piper. "You…are a genius. Just how are we going to get to the River Tiber?"

Leo grinned. "Um, isn't that like right next to our camp? We know where it is. We can hook you up!"

I grinned back at him. He reminded me of Grover when he smiled and had some idea. "Okay. So here's the plan. Compliments of Piper and Leo." Leo smiled and bowed exaggeratedly. Piper rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

"We're going to be a team. You all are going to get outfits like mine and we are going to protect Camp Half-Blood. That's what I was doing, anyway. Keep our eyes on Perseus, make sure he's not doing anything…well, evil. Slowly reveal his flaws and put the pressure on him to slip up the façade of me. Then when people start to lose faith, as Hestia told me, we strike. We take him to the Tiber, take a little dip, then we fight. I win, we celebrate, and we restore Reyna's reputation. Is that fine with everybody."

Everyone protested, but I said, "Cool, everyone's agreed." I looked to the sky. "Hestia, a little help here?"

When I looked back to the team, they were all wearing outfits like mine, perfect size for all them. I grinned. Always come through for me, Hestia. I made a silent promise to myself to thank Hestia in person.

I got a full look at everybody. Even though their outfits were like mine in terms of style and color, I saw differences in the team's outfits. On their black chests were different symbols. Reyna's had a silver symbol of two swords crossed in an 'X' shape. Probably for Bellona. Leo's had a blood red hammer and anvil, obviously for Hepheastus. Piper had a white dove symbol on her chest for Aphrodite, and Gwen had a…a…golden lyre on her chest…meaning that she's a child of Hermes…or Mercury in that matter! I stared at her and she looked at the hood and back at me as if to say, _Please just drop it. _

I saw nothing on mine. That would make sense…because that would give away my identity. So I was the only one with the total black uniform.

Leo sighed. "Umm, okay, I'm beat. Sooo…when are we sleeping? We've stayed up all night, it's still raining, there's no sunlight, when do we sleep?"

I looked at the sky. I felt bad for keeping them up all night. "Sleep now. Good night. We'll wake up early for Camp." Everyone sighed in relief and got the supplies off of Festus. They had sleeping bags (Piper), marshmallows(Leo), flashlights(definitely Leo), and a…is that a pizza menu? That's definitely Leo.

So we made a campfire. Piper and Gwen got out the sleeping bags, and while they were trying to fall asleep, Leo and I told stories about our outlandish half-blood adventures to keep the group occupied.

Then, Leo was in the middle of his story when he trailed off and was knocked out. Everyone looked at each other, and went to bed too. Except for me. I waited until everybody was asleep, then walked around in the forest. I was comfortable doing this because of Lupa's training now. I jumped 5 feet in the air to reach a branch, and flipped over it so I was sitting in the tree. I climbed a little higher. And I listened to the sounds of the forest…and Leo's snoring.

I heard a rustling and since it wasn't pitch black, I saw Piper climbing up in the tree with me. She sat on the same branch I was and dangled her feet. I looked at her. She was beautiful, her hair clinging to her face because it was wet, and her usually multicolored eyes now striking purple. But she still didn't have anything on Annabeth. I couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy for Jason since he didn't have to go through this, and he still keeps his girl.

"Aren't you supposed to be asleep? I thought you were complaining about lack of rest."

"Boy, that was Leo's idea.. What's going on with you? I know you miss her, and what do you plan to do about it."

"You sound like Hestia. We have the plan. And I'm going to follow it."

"I'm talking about before all this happened. How were you and her?"

I sighed. "We were great. I mean, we were the power couple. She and I…were going to get married. When we got the money. And we definitely aren't inviting any of our Camp friends because-"

"-of your graduation?" Piper smiled and started laughing. I couldn't help but grin at the memory too.

"Yeah, that. It's supposed to be her special day and I don't want to ruin it by having Hades spill some juice on Zeus' suit and he calls down a series of lightning bolts that destroys everything. They need to take anger management classes. Always overreacting."

Piper was rolling laughing.

"So, I have faith I'll get her back. All this will blow over. Send all y'all a couple gift cards or something."

Piper smiled again. "You have a good heart, Percy. Be sure never to let someone change that. Ever."

My smile faded. "Yeah, well see how far a good heart got me."

Piper raised her eyebrow. "You're the most powerful Greek hero of history. Maybe even in Roman history. You've beaten every monster there is to beat. Sure, you had help…a lot of help…a LOT of help…a LOOOTTTT-"

"Okay, I get it."

"-but you've accomplished everything that every hero has done before. You've beaten Kronos, Gaia, Hyperion, and don't get me started on your Greek gods. You're the son of Poseidon and have amazing powers because of that. Literally, if you apply yourself, no one can actually beat you in a battle. You're an amazing person morally, you're funny and understanding. You're a good leader, and you have a practically supermodel girlfriend. You have your own apartment and your name has been spread across the heavens. That's how far a good heart got you."

I promise you, I had to wipe some more dust out my eye. "You better watch out now, before Jason hears that and kills me."

Piper laughed and put her hand on my shoulder. She looked me in my eyes. "You're a good dude, Percy. Now go to sleep. You're tired. You're going to wake up in the morning, and lead your team to protect your camp."

I suddenly felt extremely tired, my eyelids were closing…I felt like Atlas holding my eye lids up. Wait…she was using charmspeak!

"No…no…you're not…usin-…using…charm…speak…" And the last thing I saw was Piper's smiling, pretty face as I went to sleep. And I'm not complaining.

I felt a kiss on the cheek, a totally FRIENDLY kiss. It's just children of Aphrodite sometimes are a little more affectionate than others. And I heard, "Good night, Percy Jackson."

And I dreamed.


	13. Chapter 13

Percy

I'm telling you, the time where I have a nice, peaceful sleep with a good dream is the time where my father and Athena fall in love and get married.

_I was standing in Camp Half-Blood. Everyone was asleep…except for Perseus and Annabeth. I saw Perseus run from the Poseidon cabin over to the Athena cabin. I remembered that even though Annabeth was 18, she sometimes came back to Camp when something happens that is threatening, like monster attacks, or evil clones. _

_Once again, the vision followed his moves like a camera. We were at the Athena cabin. Perseus knocked on the door, and the door opened. Annabeth was standing there with her owl pajamas on, hair wild and frizzy, and with a pen and paper in her hand. Annabeth never sleeps. I swear. She wakes up so early it's inhuman. She's probably a bat in disguise._

_When Perseus saw her, an expression of disgust flashed over his face for a second, then disappeared just as quickly. "Hey, Wise Girl." _

_Annabeth stared at him, with a curious expression. "Hey, Seaweed Brain, what's keeping you up? You're never up at this time." _

_Perseus sighed. It still gives me the chills how I'm watching myself live my life. "Yeah, well, I got a lot on my mind. Like my…twin…he just scares me. Because I know he's still out there…planning and plotting against me." _

_He then looked straight at me and I made a silly face. His face twisted into one of anger, and it looked like he was going to do something, until Annabeth pulled him into her cabin. _

_They sat on her bed the way that she and I used to do._

"_Percy, I know things have been tough on you, but you have to put all the bad things out your mind. That seemed to be your strength, but you've…changed." _

_Perseus looked at her with anger in her face, and caressed her face. "I'm sorry…Annabeth." And he kissed her. Violently. Annabeth made a face in the kiss, and pushed him away. "What is wrong with you?" Her gray eyes were moving a billion miles an hour now, analyzing her boyfriend._

_Perseus tousled his jet black hair, the way he and I both know turns Annabeth on. "I just need somebody right now. But if that's not you, I'll leave." And he got up and got ready to leave. Annabeth watched him go, and when he was at the door, "Percy! Wait. I'm sorry. I'm just…out of it." _

_Perseus stopped, but still had his back turned towards Annabeth. She got up and hugged him from the back. "Babe, please, what can I do?" _

_Perseus turned around quickly, and kissed her. This time Annabeth kissed back. They made out, and they fell onto the bed. Perseus took off his shirt and they got really…affectionate. Right when Perseus was about to take off Annabeth's pajamas, she stopped him. "Look, Percy, I can do anything but that. My mom never had sex, and I don't plan to anytime soon. We can wait until you get married, right? That's what we agreed on? I can do anything for you but that. It's a promise I made to myself." _

_Perseus looked at her, and tried to force her pajamas off. I struggled to run up and tackle him, but he forgot that Annabeth wears one-piece pajamas, so he wasn't able to get off her pants. But she realized what he was trying to do, and she kicked him in the chest away from her. He fell off the bed. He growled and tried to pin my girlfriend down, but Annabeth slapped him. YOU GO, GIRL!_

_But she clutched her hand because it must've hurt her because of Achilles' curse. Perseus looked at her like he wanted to seriously kill her. Go ahead, man. I dare you. Then I'll kill you. _

_He grabbed her and picked her up. Annabeth struggled, and kicked her way away from him. She got out her dagger, and Perseus got out his version of my sword. _

_He attacked her, disarmed her easily, then kicked her into the wall. Her head hit first, and her eyes rolled back into her head. She fell to the ground, unconscious. NO! ANNABETH! _

_Perseus stood over her, sword in hand. "Cocky little bitch." He raised his sword to kill her, but an invisible hand lifted him off the ground, out the cabin, and threw him to the sand near the ocean. And there standing there, was Poseidon. My father. His sea green eyes were full of anger and sadness. "Clone. You have no business living Percy's life." I sighed in relief. At least he knew that he was the evil one._

_Perseus stood up and wiped his mouth of the sand. He grinned. "You're breaking the rules by doing this, Poseidon. So when my plan comes together, you'll be the first to die. I will be Perseus, the god-slayer." Did he say die?_

_Poseidon sighed. "You look just like him. But your attitudes are polar opposites." _

_He held out his hand and his golden trident materialized in his hand. He shook his head. "The sins of the son must be visited upon the father." _

_Perseus laughed scarily, and got out his Riptide. Poseidon yelled and shot an energy blast, but Perseus knocked it away with Riptide. _

_Perseus yelled and charged Dad. Poseidon's trident morphed into a sword, similar to my Riptide, but like 2 feet longer. Perseus tried for a thrust, but Poseidon parried him easily. Then, a water hand formed out the water, grabbed Perseus' ankle, and threw him to the ground 20 feet away. Perseus spit out sand, and threw everything he could at my father, but Dad just neutralized them all. I had the urge to laugh at my twin because of how helpless he looked. _

_Perseus then sighed. He tapped his sword on the ground and a fissure opened in the ground underneath Poseidon's feet, making him fall through it. Perseus closed the gap where Dad fell and laughed. Then the whole ground shook violently. _

_This is Poseidon. The god of the Sea. The Earthshaker. The whole ground on Camp Half-Blood shook hard, so hard that it woke up everyone at the Camp. They all came out their cabins to see what was happening, and all they saw was Perseus standing in the middle of the beach, with the Earth shaking. Then a huge energy blast blasted from the ground, enveloping Perseus, and freeing Dad. Poseidon dusted the sand off his body. _

_He gritted his teeth. "Don't…ever…do…that…again." _

_Perseus was surrounded by a huge sandstorm when he was blasted by that energy blast. When it cleared up, Perseus was standing there, unharmed, but gracefully naked. He quickly formed a water robe around him to cover himself. Poseidon flew to the sea, waved his hand, and Perseus disappeared in a cloud of mist, leaving a lingering scream of anger in the air. _

_The whole camp was gathered in a crowd; Chiron and Annabeth at the front. They all gasped when Perseus disappeared. _

"_This clone is right. It is against the rules to meddle in demigod affairs. This is a job for my son, Percy Jackson. I've transported Perseus to a place far away from here. The fool is an imposter, and you all are fools for choosing the wrong Percy. My boy is out there somewhere. You must find him. That is all I can reveal. " Then Poseidon walked into the sea, turned into water, then sunk into the ocean. _

_Annabeth's eyes were shining. She had that face that said 'I knew it! I knew it!' _

_Chiron was looking wistfully out to the sky. "Percy, come home." _


	14. Chapter 14

Percy

I woke up next to Piper, who fell asleep on my chest. Boy, I don't know why all these girls are suddenly being affectionate towards me. I'm telling you, it's because I'm 18, a legal adult. I sighed. It was still raining. The clouds covered the sky and cast an ominous shadow over the forest. Then, rainbow circle popped up near me. I literally jumped out of fear, and when I looked into the Iris-message, I saw…Perseus! I probably woke up Piper, but that wasn't the main priority at the time.

Perseus changed. He cut my messy hair into a close-cropped style, more mature and adult. It was like this: imgres?q=logan+lerman+teen+vogue&num=10&hl=en&biw=1040&bih=752&tbm=isch&tbnid=xlwBXNgHLewz6M:&imgrefurl= 2011/10/18/celebrities/logan-lerman-november-2011-teen-vogue-photos/&docid=w6YJdFKGqSswfM&imgurl= wp-content/gallery/logan-lerman-in-october-2011-teen-vogue/logan-lerman-teen-vogue-3_ &w=350&h=450&ei=OY8BUL_7NOLA0AG3sYG2Bw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=587&vpy=143&dur=266&hovh=255&hovw=198&tx=84&ty=133&sig=111049312349202702728&page=1&tbnh=173&tbnw=135&start=0&ndsp=16&ved=1t:429,r:8,s:0,i:127

Sorry for that long break, just in case you wanted a visual image.

Perseus was at a club, with women draped all over him as he flashed a credit card. "Join me, will you?"

I just scowled.

His eyes were still that harsh sea green color, and he was smiling. He looked…weird with the cut. He looked straight into my eyes. "I guess not. Glad I could find you, twin. How are you?"

I had so much anger towards him that I wanted to jump through that Iris-message and choke him. Disrespecting Annabeth and Camp like that. Attacking my father? "Cut the small talk, clone. What do you want? Where are you, so we can hunt you down and kill you?"

He laughed good-naturedly…even though…he was…bad-natured. "Funny. Anyway, that was interesting what you did. The little 'dark vigilante' thing. Embarrassed me in front of the whole camp. I hope you're satisfied."

I gritted my teeth. I sensed Piper awake and staring behind me. "Not satisfied until your death. Then I'll be fine."

"See, that's me talking in you. That evil side…the ruthless side. I love it. Anyway, you can find me at…how do I say this…your old stomping grounds."

"My old stomping grounds? What-"

"Where you first started your heroics. Anyway, I gotta go. I got a couple meetings. In case you're wondering, I do want you to come. So I can kill you. That's the plan. If you don't come…well, let's just say that your stomping grounds are in danger. And if you come hunt me down, I've sent some new friends of mine to attack Camp Half-Blood...oh, and I've sent a few new allies to hunt your little hooded team down. So, your choice. _Sayonara_." And he waved his hand through the vision.

Piper put a hand on my shoulder. I was shaking with anger. I stood up, and back-flipped to the ground. Piper followed my lead. Where should I go? What should I do? Stay here, and wait for him to destroy whatever place he's in? Someplace that has an emotional connection to me? Or attack and leave Camp to its own devices.

Piper was on the phone. "Yeah, that would be great! Thanks! Bye." She pressed the _end _button on her iPhone and put it in her pocket to find me glaring at her. "What? I'm helping you out."

"How the hell are you going to do that?"

"You're going to go after him. I know it. I know you. And we're going to go with you. So, I called up Jason. He'll stay here, and protect Camp. This team will go after your clone."

I stared at her. She seemed sincere enough…I just had the urge to run up and hug her. Jason is powerful, and a praetor. Meaning that he can lead Camp Half-Blood to victories in battle. I didn't know how to repay Piper. Thankfully, she smirked. "You're welcome." She put her hood up in the pouring rain and ran to the team. She screamed at them, effectively scaring them out of the bed. I laughed.

Reyna literally backflipped out her sleep and was ready to fight.

Gwen jumped up, slipped on the mud, and fell right back down.

Leo just screamed back at her and went back to sleep, until Piper kicked him awake.

I looked at all them. I thanked whatever god was the god of teamwork because I sure needed these people. "My reputation has been restored. I had a dream about it last night, and Perseus sent me an Iris-message to show that he's kicked out of Camp. He claims that he's at my 'old stomping grounds.' Now, you don't know how much I just want to run to Camp and throw it in everyone's face that they were wrong, but somehow I know that's not the right thing to do. We're going after him."

Leo looked confused. "Why aren't you going to Camp?"

Piper smacked him. "Weren't you listening? He knows it's not right. Plus, he has to take Perseus as quickly as possible."

Leo made an _O _with his mouth. I face-palmed myself. Reyna had her war-like expression on, totally unlike the one she had on when she tried to kiss me.

"Well, when are we going?"

I looked at her. "Until our temporary protector, Jason, gets here, we're heading to Camp to protect it. When he gets here, we will leave then."

Reyna looked at me. She always makes me feel uncomfortable for some reason.

I looked around. "Anybody else? No one? Let's go, then."

And we made our way to the Camp boundaries. Leaping, climbing, sprinting, jumping, carrying(only for Leo).

By the time we got there, Leo and Gwen fell on the ground. Leo was panting. "I haven't...used...Lupa's...training...since...I...was...8 years old...I'll stay...right here..."

I looked at the team. Reyna raised her eyebrow as if asking me, _How are you going to handle this, leader? Us Romans would kick them out for this. _

Instead, I said "Anybody got a bucket of ice cold water?

From behind me I heard rustling. "I'm up!"

"Me too!"

"Hoods on, group. Let's go."

Then whole ground shook. I was confused because even though I was son of the Earthshaker, I know it wasn't me doing that. Then, we heard roaring and screeching. I nodded to the team, and we leapt into trees right at the boundary of the camp, taking advantage of our stealth. We all put up our hoods so we were totally dark, except for their marks on their chests. I saw the Camp boundary guard, child of Apollo, looking at me with the widest eyes. I put a finger to my shadow of a face to signal silence. He looked at me like, _Are you kidding me?_

He looked at Piper right next to me who took off her hood and put a finger to her lips. He nodded like a bobblehead and zipped up for the rest of the time. I sighed. I looked down on the ground.

Gorgons. Bigger than the ones I had faced a few days ago. Like 10 of them. Ugly ones. Not like there are any good-looking ones. Led by, you got it, our good old friend Medusa. She had her claws out and her snakes in her hair hadn't changed. She had scary muscles for a woman. Her eyes blazed red. I still can't get over that Dad hooked up with her. I shuddered. She was sniffing the air like she was trying to smell out a certain son of Poseidon and his team of bad-asses.

Gwen notched her arrow, but I held my hand up. I held my breath. I thought I had sent her to Tartarus for at least 50 years...wait..._I've sent a few new allies to hunt your little hooded team down. _This was Perseus' first attack. I looked at Piper, which was kind of dumb considering I couldn't see her face.

Medusa smiled. "I finally found you, Child of Poseidon. Show yourself."

The guard looked at me with wide eyes. Oh no. Did my cover just get blown?

Suddenly, someone jumped down from the trees...Reyna. I knew it was her because for only one moment, I saw her silver swords on her chest flash. She moved so quickly that you couldn't tell if it was a male or female. She was there, then gone in the same second. Medusa snarled and swiped at her. I silently thanked Reyna for doing that.

I looked at the guard. "Go warn Camp."

I jumped down, brandishing Riptide. Piper jumped down behind me. Leo jumped from the tree opposite us and shot a column of fire at her face. It struck and burnt her...beautiful face. Medusa screamed and looked straight at Leo. Piper gasped, Reyna sprinted towards him, but she was too slow. Gwen screamed. I totally forgot about my facade and yelled, "LEO! LOOK AWAY-" but it was too late.


	15. Chapter 15

Percy

Leo stared the monster in the face. Her mouth opened impossibly wide, and her snakes did the same. The disgusting little things stood straight up, mouths wide open, and roared at Leo. Both the face and the snakes' eyes turned deathly gray as they stared at my comrade.

Leo looked at her…and nothing happened. I get it. Since Medusa can't see his face, she can't petrify it. Gwen yelled in an unexpected burst of testosterone, and threw her spear so it impaled Medusa in the eye. She screamed and pulled it out painfully. "What is wrong with you fleshlings?"

Leo grinned. "You ever seen the Fantastic Four?"

I grinned. I knew his plan. It was creative.

He yelled and his entire body was enveloped in flames, kind of like the Human Torch if any of you have seen that. His body was covered in flames, so literally every part of his body was yellow or orange or red, and was on flames. I was afraid he was going to burn at first, but I realized that was a dumb thought. Seaweed Brain. Piper muttered in an admiring fashion, "Oh, Leo!"

I raised my eyebrow at her, then back at Leo. He looked and laughed real cool at Medusa. The gorgon's face turned back to normal and she backed up. The other gorgons followed their leader's example.

Leo yelled, "Seaweed Brain! Get everyone together!" Wait, what? Oh…he was talking to me…and not blowing my cover. He's heard Annabeth call me that numerous of like a code name. Cute.

I knew exactly what he was talking about too. I put my hand out, and rainwater formed into a giant hook of water. It hooked Reyna and Gwen over to my position. I grinned at them. "Ladies, might want to brace yourselves." Reyna rolled her eyes, because I know she hates being referred to as a lady.

I formed a water dome around us as Leo put his arms out to his sides. He put his head to the sky and yelled. The fire around his body flowed off his body and into the center of his chest in a sphere of fire, where it turned white…white-hot flames. I knew he was grinning under his hood. "Supernova."

He exhaled audibly. The sphere of white flames exploded, sending white hot flames in every direction, followed by a burst of 10,000 degree wave of killing heat. I know that temperature because it's one of my gifts I learned from spending time with Poseidon. Leo fell to the ground, and fell asleep. I would handle that later.

Good news: he disintegrated every gorgon in a 3 mile radius, and even some monsters we hadn't encountered yet, buying us some valuable time. I was aware of that because after the explosion, I heard some lingering monsters' screams in the forest. I bet they were thinking, _Man, I failed before I could even get to the Camp. What a loser I must be! _

Bad news: he set the whole forest on extreme fire. I used our water shield to extinguish flames of the nearest one. Everyone pretty much looked at me since they weren't really experienced as fire fighters.

The rain helped settle the fire, but it wasn't doing enough. The trees were going to burn up before the fire would be put out, and that would clear a nice pathway for monsters to walk casually down.

I looked to the sky. I started thinking like Annabeth. Side effect of being her boyfriend. So don't be mad if you don't understand it.

Even if I used the rain, it would only be relative. The amount of rain falling down would not change, and even if I used the water to extinguish, it wouldn't make a difference. If I collected the whole rain in a huge wave, the force of a wave that size would knock down all the trees anyway, mimicking the effects of a flash flood. So our only hope…

I got a ball of cold water and flung it at Leo's face. Luckily I played baseball when I was younger, and I pitched. I hit him right in the face, and he yelled and sputtered. His hood was still on, thank Zeus. He wiped his face and looked at us with a gesture that said, _You see I'm trying to sleep here!_ I pointed at the flames on the trees. He gasped and inhaled. All the fire flowed from off the trees into Leo's mouth, which was kind of disgusting and cool at the same time. He looked like a reverse dragon, or one of those circus people who believe that fire is an essential element for the human diet. You ever see those flame eating guys?

Anyway, he inhaled quickly, and all the fire went from the tree into his mouth. I looked at the trees around me, and saw that after the flames left, Leo absorbed the heat too, so when he ate the flames off the tree, he also 'ate' the heat off them, leaving them perfectly normal and non-charred/burned. Piper and Gwen cheered, and Reyna nodded in respect. I was proud of him.

After the last flame went into his mouth, he closed his mouth, and let out a huge cough that released a small amount of smoke from his mouth and his nose. Everyone laughed at that. Wait…everyone?

I turned and saw the whole Camp Half-Blood standing like 20 feet away. They must've seen the whole thing. And in the front, hands on her hips, lips pursed, was my girlfriend. Grover pushed his way to the front of the group. My heart ached. I sure missed them.

Grover grinned. "So this is the famous team."

Team? We were more like a…I looked at our group of bad-asses. The way we worked together…we were a team. The whole…team gathered around me so I was in the middle. I saluted to them. Annabeth started to go off at her rapid fire, machine-gun pace.

"WHO are you? Answer me! Are you some enemy of ours? I see you got some friends. What are those symbols on their chests? Why don't you have one? Who was the fire guy? I bet it was a child of Hephaestus, right? Or of the Roman form? Or maybe it's from some other pantheon of gods. But anyway, the point is that you save us from monsters we can handle ourselves and yet, you want to maintain your secrecy. I want answers, now."

Piper leaned towards me while Annabeth was still firing off questions and interrogations. She whispered in a mouse voice, "What should we do now?"

I leaned towards her, carefully keeping my eyes on Annabeth, lest she surprise us with some knife attack. I whispered in the same voice, "Run."

"Run?"

"She's in one of her moods. Run. Now."

And Piper and I ran in the other direction. Reyna noticed, and pulled Leo along with her, so we were running as a team. Everyone was flipping in the trees, leaping, using the vines and trees as trapezes and stuff, looking all bad-ass, but since my luck was this good, I didn't want to test fate. I was the only one on the ground plain old sprinting.

I could sense Annabeth start to sprint after us, but I heard Grover, "Calm down, Annabeth. They're heroes. Why are you so interested in them?"

I turned around so Annabeth could see me. I saluted to her real cool and kept running.

After we got out of view, our team starting celebrating. I say 'our team' because I was the only one not. Everyone was congratulating Leo, talking about their spots in the trees, in excited voices. I didn't blame then. We won an impressive battle. In an impressive way. Actually, Leo did, but if we didn't wake him up 5 times on the way here, he wouldn't have done that. So that was teamwork. Not to mention Reyna's courage to be the first to jump out and challenge Medusa. I squeezed Reyna's arm in silent gratitude, and somehow she knew what the purpose was. She nodded her head without looking at me, and I walked off.

I took off my hood, looked to the sky, and prayed. _Dad, if you're there, I just…just please let everything be good. Or else the whole world is in danger. I know it. I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused, and just grant me that. _

Thunder boomed in the sky. I grinned up at the clouds, rain pounding my face. The plan's in action. Perseus, give me the best you've got.


	16. Chapter 16

Percy

We spent the whole rest of the day eating pizza. And hunting. That's how it went. We would rest, eat pizza, see some monster from Perseus come to attack Camp, kill it, then come back to our base and rest and eat some more pizza. Not necessarily the life that a dark vigilante son of Poseidon would live, but I'm not complaining. I sighed.

After we had killed a magical bull, we were on our way back. I was in the front of the group with my head down and hood up. I heard the team out of sync. Reyna was arguing with Gwen about their tactics for defeating the huge bull. Leo and Piper were arguing. Piper was calling Leo lazy and useless, and he was calling Piper a scared little girl…and it was just mayhem. I put my hood up out of embarrassment. This wasn't a team. I don't know what this was.

"HEY!" I took off my hood and turned around. Everyone stopped and looked at me. I shook my head. "What, you think that this is the way to act? I appreciate you doing this for me, but if you all are going to act like a bunch of kids and ruing your relationships with each other, then forget it. I can do this myself. Just silly. Reyna and Gwen. Who CARES how you defeat a monster? As long as you DEFEAT it, you'll be fine. Find out some way to defeat it without causing any harm to others and do that. Leo and Piper. Leo, you are lazy. But you're not useless. You see that performance you put out there just a few hours ago? That was great. It protected our identities and everything. Piper, you tell me all the time how you're married, and marriage takes sacrifice. You're EIGHTEEN years old. You have plenty of life to live. Really? I don't think that you should 'stoop' down to Leo's level to be arguing about petty nonsense like what you're talking about now. Really?"

Everyone looked ashamed. Except Reyna, who looked at me like she just found a million dollars on the ground. I shook my head and put my hood back on.

Then a golden flash burst through the group and stopped like 40 feet in front of us. Gwen and Piper screamed, Leo grunted. We all stopped our progress and got ready to attack. I got out Riptide and held it out in front of me warily.

Reyna looked around. "What is it?"

Leo raised his eyebrow. "One of Perseus' things?"

I got my first good look at it. I froze.

Piper gasped. "No…it's beautiful."

Reyna narrowed her eyes. "It's probably a trap. Calm down."

It was a golden deer. Not yellow…golden. Like the one that Thalia was hunting years ago that brought her to me…but much more radiant and glittery. Reminded me of that Twilight vampire guy.

It stared at us and pawed the ground elegantly. It's fluid, smooth movements reminded me of Thanatos a few years ago, how he was just flawless. Everything he did looked cool, fluid, motionless, just…perfect. And this animal reminded me of it.

The deer lowered its head towards us shyly. Gwen gasped. "It wants us to follow him."

I looked at her. "You can speak deer?"

"No, dummy, it's pretty obvious." I stared at her and she put her hands up in mock surrender.

Oh. My bad. We approached slowly, weapons still up. The deer's eyes curled up as if it was smiling, then started walking forward. So Gwen was right. It wants us to follow it.

I looked back at the group. "Come on. It obviously means something."

Reyna looked hesitant. "Or, it could be a trap. Those, I am well aware of in my duty with the Hunters."

I glanced at her. "Hunters aren't Amazons. You have to get that out your mind…Hunters are more trusting than Amazons. There is a difference. So get out of your sister Hylla's mindset and get into Hunter Reyna's mindset. Follow your instinct. Let's go."

I ran after the deer, and everyone followed me; Reyna a little more hesitantly than the others.

As soon as we started running, the deer started to sprint again, so fast that it turned into the golden flash again. Even though it was running fast, I felt like someone had injected some super-speed drug into me. Probably the deer's doing. Everyone seemed to share the same feeling with me, considering the fact that we were able to keep up with this animal.

It slowed down, and we slowed down. It trotted over a square area made of vines. We jogged towards it, and as soon as we stepped on it, we fell through it due to its weakness.

We fell and fell, and crashed hard on some soil. I didn't appreciate Gwen screaming in my ear the whole time.

I got up first and looked around. We were set up…wait…no we weren't.

We had stumbled upon a huge river. Around the river was lush green grass and trees; the mountains of Camp Half-Blood rose up in the distance…it was beautiful. It was paradise. I had never seen this part before in all my years at Camp.

The rest of the group stood up and looked around. Gwen covered her mouth with her hands. "This is…amazing!"

Reyna stared curiously. Leo wasn't frozen like the rest of us. He was already running to the water. He ran past me. Quickly, I grabbed his shoulder without looking and pulled him down. "You hear that? We're not alone."

The mood seemed to turn colder. We bunched together. I could hear voices…teenagers.

"OW! Come on, Frank, way to be nice and graceful."

"Hey! Don't come for him like that unless you want a nice kick in your area. I'll do it."

"She'll do it."

"Shut it, Chinese baby man!"

"That's it!" I heard a thud, a wheeze, and another thud. Then I heard some serious dragging. I hope this isn't some kind of horror movie thing…wait…Chinese baby man?

FRANK. And the girl standing up for him must be my old friend Hazel. And I'm guessing the other guy is our good old guy Jason. Sure enough, three individuals burst out of the trees, two people dragging a muscular, tanned, blonde guy. Jason Grace. Jason's hair was cut close-cropped, similar to Perseus. Maybe I should look into taking that style…NAHHHHH.

When they saw us, they dropped Jason out of fear. Jason made an "oomph" sound. I felt bad for the poor guy, but it was good to see my friends again. Hazel was…what was she…16 years old now? Frank was 18, like me…wow. That's pedophilish, isn't it? Never mind. I shouldn't be talking with a dad who likes sleeping around with people thousands of years younger than him.

Frank grew out his hair in opposition to his usual buzz cut. He was actually the glue that held the Seven together. Me, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Leo, Frank, and Hazel. You should've seen it. The way that he was taking charge and especially when Annabeth was…well never mind. That's a story for another time.

Anyway it was good to see that the two were still together from the looks of it. I took off my hood and raised my hands in a peace gesture. Hazel gasped and Frank's eyes widened. Hazel practically tackled me to the ground in her hug. I should call her Hazel Annabeth-Chase-Levesque because in the hug she was bombarding me with questions. "Where were you! How have you been? Oh, I missed you! Why are you dressed like that?"

I pulled away from the hug with some difficulty. That girl had a grip. Piper was scowling…I wouldn't blame her considering they knocked out her boyfriend and dropped him on the ground. She ran to Jason, who got up steadily. He stood full height and exhaled. He was about 6'1 now, taller than me by a good inch. He was muscular and tanned. His blond hair had darkened to dirty blonde. He had slight stubble on the sides of his face. He had this sort of rugged handsome look to him, which I'm guessing all sons of Zeus should have.

He grinned as Piper hugged him. He nodded at me respectfully and I nodded back. He mouthed, _This girl's killing me. _I grinned and mouthed back, _I know the feeling. Get used to it. You're married now. Have fun. _He rolled his eyes. He looked at Reyna, then quickly looked away when he saw her staring him down. Two former praetors of the Roman camp, and they don't speak to one another. Go figure.

He winked at Leo, nodded at Gwen, and scowled at Frank and Hazel. I cleared my throat. "Okay! Enough with the introductions. Wonderful. Now, we have to work out some plan. We need a group to stay and protect Camp Half-Blood, then we need to have a group to go after Perseus."

Jason pulled Piper off him. Piper stayed next to him, probably to send a silent message to Reyna, _He's mine. Get that through your thick skull. _

Jason looked at me with those blue eyes that reminded me of Thalia. I wondered what she was up to. "Percy's right. But we need the most powerful out of us to go after Perseus. Granted, all of us are powerful in our own ways, but we need the most physically gifted to go after this evil guy."

Reyna nodded coldly. "Piper, you would stay here with Camp."

Piper grabbed her knife on her side. "You know, I've had enough of you-"

"STOP!" Hazel said in a commanding voice. It amazed me how she was always the mediator and she's always the youngest one. It provided a sort of quiet strength that I respect.

Hazel looked around. "We have Percy, Jason, Piper, Reyna, Leo, Gwen, Frank, and I. Definitely Percy and Jason should go. Any objections?"

No one spoke.

"Good. Now, I had a dream about Leo's little fireworks display-"

"LITTLE?"

"-so he should be in there. Piper should also go because of her charmspeaking. Then…we should go to Reyna, because of her battle experience is greater than all of ours. Except perhaps Percy. Any objections? Please speak up so I can shut you up."

No one spoke. Frank looked at her as if he hadn't seen her before in his life.

"Good. So it's set. No offense to the others, but Gwen, give up your uniform to Jason."

Gwen seemed kind of bummed out, but she didn't answer. Jason raised an eyebrow and put on the uniform. Miraculously, it fit him perfectly. The sign on the chest turned into a white flying eagle. "This is kinda boss. I have to admit."

I nodded my head in agreement. "Thanks, Hazel. Everyone should take a lesson from Hazel."

Leo rolled his eyes. "Yeah, take lessons from a 16 year old."

Everyone hit him and he put his hands over his head in futile defense.

I continued. "So Gwen, Hazel, and Frank will stay and lead Camp Half-Blood against any monsters that Perseus sends. The rest of us will go after Perseus."

Jason bore into me with those blue eyes. "Do we even know where we're going?"

I looked at the sky. _The place where you first started your heroics. _

"Yeah. We need to find our way to Yancy Academy. The place where I was kind of forced to fight for the first time with this sword." I held up Riptide.

"There's a beach near it, because it's sort of a charter school. So Perseus would set up there easily."

Jason nodded. Leo had to chime in. "And we're going to be Olympic runners and sprint there?"

I shook my head. I put my head to whispered, "Blackjack."

Then, five creatures appeared in the sky…pegasi. They landed on the ground, knocking Frank down. One jet black. Two light gray ones. One the color of peanut butter. And one pure white one. It was majestic. Amazing. Flawless…wait….I take that back…it was almost as cool as Blackjack. But whose was this one?

Blackjack snorted. _It's Zeus' kid's horse, boss. Of course. Anyway, when we leaving? _

I grinned. "Now, Blackjack." I boarded Blackjack. I felt right at home, since this is Poseidon's territory.

Jason mounted the white Pegasus cautiously. "Hey, Snow. What's up with you?" The horse whinnied peacefully. _Fine, man. I've been just fine. _

Reyna raised her eyebrow. "How did you know how to get my Pegasus, Scipio?" Blackjack snorted. I could hear him, but Reyna probably couldn't. _Oh, you mean Skippy? Just some female I picked up on the way…now that I mention it boss…what do you know about pregnancy?_ Scipio whinnied bashfully.I laughed out loud and cracked up on the horse' back. Reyna raised an eyebrow at me. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, it's just that your Pegasus and mine are having a beautiful baby horse."

Reyna turned deathly pale. Hazel's eyes were gleaming. I turned towards her from on top of Blackjack. "You know that pegasi grow extremely quickly?" She nodded.

"Well, this baby is yours. Take care of it." Hazel looked at me with a look that said _I could dump Frank and marry you right now. _At least, that's what I thought it said. Before something weird happens, I kicked Blackjack and he took to the sky. Jason's Pegasus Snow followed along. Scipio rode Reyna, who was still pale. Leo and Piper were struggling to hold on to their pegasi.

I looked back at them, and cupped my hand over my mouth to simulate speaking into a one of those walkie talkies. "Ohhhhhhkaayyyy, passengers. Welcome to the Jackson Pegasus Express. Here, we make sure we take care of our pegasi, and make sure they are the best of quality. Please keep your arms and legs in the vehicles, or else the pegasi are likely to throw you off. Other than that, have a nice flight."

Jason grinned, and laughed a little. Leo and Piper was laughing, and Reyna cracked a smile. I screamed in joy as Blackjack and I soared higher and higher, and jumped ahead of the other horses. I saw Snow catch up so he was parallel with us. He whinnied, saying, _Pathetic Black Pegasus. Let us show them how it's done. _Jason screamed and Snow whizzed past us.

But we're sons of Poseidon. We don't back down from a challenge. Blackjack snorted, and raced Snow with Jason and I screaming the whole way. Reyna even got involved like halfway in it, and we had fun…I just can't help but think how I'm the only Greek here. It made me kind of sad…but wistful sad. Reflective. I'm going to beat Perseus. And get my old life back. I know it.


	17. Chapter 17

Percy

We flew and flew. I was leading the group on Blackjack since Snow fell behind due to fatigue. Not going to lie, it gave me a sense of pride that my Pegasus was the most awesome.

I looked down at the ground as the view underneath us changed to my familiar New York upbringing. My homing radar tingled…we were close. And I could sense the evil growing in the air.

I looked back, and everyone was asleep on their horse. I was kind of afraid that they were going to fall off, and we would have to swoop down and catch them, but the pegasi seemed to take care of their riders. Everyone asleep…except Jason. Jason was wide awake, hood off, striking blue eyes open and looking around, taking in his surroundings.

I always felt…I don't know…his existence is just weird. When Hera switched our places a couple years ago, where I was praetor and he was the leader of Camp Half-Blood, that usually is a gesture between two people of equal stature. Was I really Jason's equal? He killed a _Titan _with his _bare hands. _How do you do that?

Jason looked sideways at me. "Can I help you, Jackson?"

His voice had deepened and matured from our little teaming up a couple years ago.

I took off my hood and look in his eyes, sea green to electric blue. We were still flying, and Snow had caught up to us. He was like 7 feet away in the air. I half-smiled.

"Nah, not really, just looking at how big your head is."

Jason narrowed his eyes. We always play like this. "Watch yourself, Jackson, or else I'm really going to show you who the best god is."

I did a playoffs. "Best god? God of the Sea. Poseidon of course."

Jason rolled his eyes. "Anyway, what's up with you? How you feeling?"

I sighed and looked straight ahead. "I'm feeling like this is all my fault. What if we lose? And then Perseus actually takes down all the gods? It'll be my fault. I won't have a fair trial in Elysium. Why? Because the person who took over the world wouldn't be alive if it weren't for me and my carelessness. Three harpies. Took my DNA and my self-being and took it to Janus and Ate. It was foolish. Now, I'm dragging four people into battle where they might die. I'm a terrible leader."

Then, something kind of big hit me in the head, and fell down to the ground 5,000 feet down. It was an orange. An orange? I looked over at Jason who was eating…an orange. I stared at him and rubbed my head. "What was that for?"

"Because you're acting like a little girl. Insecure about yourself. You were praetor of the Romans, and you're insecure? You were the leader of Camp Half-Blood, and you're not confident in yourself? Hardly traits of a warrior like yourself. Wake up. Look at the real world. Stuff happens, and it's our job as heroes to do that. Your namesake, Perseus, was my half-brother. And he was cocky as hell. Didn't want to accept his godly side, and ended up saving Greece. You would pound Perseus in a fight, and you have to show it."

I thought about what he said. He sure is a leader…his speeches are good and straight to the point. It started to downpour rain. Lightning flashed in the distance. I put on my hood and looked ahead. Jason did the same. I could hear the breathing of the other 3 team members who were asleep…the rain woke them up. I spotted something in the distance…five…_things _that were flying towards us. I didn't think it was New York's new postal service.

They were flying fast. I got out Riptide, which was now its usual bronze-golden color. Jason just got into his ready position. I squinted in the pouring rain. They were gargoyles. Huge, stone, strong gargoyles.

Jason drew a sharp intake of breath and caused a huge thunderclap in the distance, which woke the rest of the team up. Leo looked ahead of us. "I hope those are the air police telling us that we can't have winged horses."

The gargoyles got closer and closer. They growled and raised their stone swords at like 10 feet from us. "SCATTER!" I called.

The pegasi flew in all different directions, one gargoyle following each pegasi. I saw out the corner of my eye lightning strikes, fire blasts, swords flashing, and whatnot.

Blackjack and I banked right, as the Gargoyle followed us. He banked wide right, probably because they can't make sharp turns easily.

I had no idea how those wings could carry a 2000 pound statue. The statue caught up to us and tried for a killing strike. I turned around and parried his attack with difficulty. He was strong. The creature growled and flew faster to try to get a better look. He tried again, but I fended him off. I couldn't do this much longer. Soon, either Blackjack or I would get tired, and he would kill the both of us. He wouldn't have any problem since he doesn't breathe.

Then I had an idea. "Blackjack! To the ground!" Blackjack dove instantly so we were diving 200 mph down towards the ground. I felt like one of those cartoon characters who go really fast and their cheeks and face are like pulled back with the saliva coming out. I heard the beating of wings getting closer and closer. These things were built to destroy us.

We flew towards a street with cars and pedestrians and such. I had to get them out of there.

We got 50 feet from the ground…40 feet…30 feet…20 feet…10 feet…

I closed my eyes and concentrated. I was manipulating the Mist. Chiron had taught me this. Then, sure enough, someone yelled, "Terrorist! Run!" and everyone screamed and ran away from the area. Drivers got right out their cars and ran the other way. Good.

The gargoyle almost grabbed Blackjack's tail. "NOW!" I screamed. Blackjack zoomed and made a straight vertical U-turn so we were flying straight up to the sky. The Gargoyle couldn't make the quick change, crashed on the street pavement and broke into several pieces and sawdust.

Blackjack and I relaxed. I grinned. "Good job, man."

_Of course I did good. Aren't I awesome? _

We flew back up to our previous spot in the air. My heart leapt. Our team was doing amazing. I saw Reyna on Skippy flying around. Reyna had a gargoyle chasing her, but she threw her sword on a frozen rope point first at another one chasing Jason. It impaled the creature right in it's stony eye, and the monster crumbled.

Piper looked up. She also had one chasing her, but she spurred her Pegasus and it flew closer to Reyna. Piper _stood up _on the horse, and JUMPED off it. I panicked. What is she thinking?

Everything went into slow motion. She was flying through the air towards the Reyna's gargoyle. She undershot. She fell right before she reached the gargoyle. My heart stopped….then she reached out with her knife and stabbed the Gargoyle's ankle. She swung herself up on its back, took out her knife, and continued to hack away at the thing's face. She literally struck the face until it was just dust. She knifed off the Gargoyle's wings, and it fell to the ground…along with Piper.

I could see Jason's muscles tense. He was getting ready to jump off and catch Piper. He was so focused on her that he didn't sense another Gargoyle flying up towards him. I got ready to throw Riptide, but Leo called out, "Hey, Superman! Duck!"

Jason blinked as if he just woke up, then ducked as a fireball soared over his head and destroyed the ambushing Gargoyle. I called, "JASON! I GOT PIPER!"

Jason nodded and looked in Leo's direction. He gritted his teeth as a lightning bolt summoned down and struck Leo's Gargoyle. It crumbled into dust. I spurred Blackjack and we dove down again. We went faster and faster…until we saw Piper calmly leaning against a building. The rest of the team flew down with their Pegasus to see what was going on. Piper smiled.

"Used the Gargoyle to break my fall. Thanks, though. But look. We found it."

I looked around. Sure enough, there was a big sign saying the name of the school.

We were here. Yancy Academy. Where I was a troubled student who hated Nancy Bobofit and best friends with Grover. Chiron was Mr. Brunner, and Riptide was…just a pen. As a matter of fact, nothing has changed, really. If I saw Nancy today, I would hate her like I used to.

Jason looked at me again. "Bring back old memories?"

I grinned. "You have no idea."

I saw the forest behind the school. I took in my surroundings. The parking lot was empty, probably because it was the summer. But there are usually janitors here…hope they got out safely. It was still raining, so everyone put their hoods up. Then I heard a huge footstep. BOOM.

I looked towards the forest. BOOM.

It was definitely coming from there. Leo commented, "Uh, guys? I don't think we're alone in this forest."

I sensed the evil coming from the forest. "So that's where we go. Through the forest, to the hidden beach. And guys? Let's make this our final battle."

I patted Blackjack's snout and he understood. He stayed there with all the other pegasi, ready to go just in case we needed them.

And we sprinted into the forest. The footsteps got louder and louder. Then it was totally silent. I braced myself.

Then the tree nearest to us was lifted out of the ground. By something big. I looked up…and there was my old friend Polyphemus. He had gotten even bigger, and only wore a little ripped up tunic that covered his…area. Trust me, even though he's blind, he can make other people blind if that thing falls off. So I prayed that it stayed on.

He grinned a toothy, disgusting, yellow and brown smile and roared. "SON OF POSIEDON! I CAN SMELL YOU…SHOW YOURSELF!"

We were literally standing right in front of him. Jason breathed, "Who-"

"Shhh." I warned him in a whisper. "He has good hearing, not too good of sight. He might still be blind from last time I fought him. Stay in the shadows, find me, and wait for my signal."

And we scrambled. We climbed up different trees as Polyphemus roared and knocked down maple and oak trees effortlessly. I am seriously missing Tyson. Polyphemus sniffed. I had taken a spot in a tree that was nearest to him for a quick strike at his eye. He swung his fist and knocked down the tree I was in. I quickly leapt out the tree and stabbed his leg. It had the effect of a pinch, but I needed some attention at me. He roared and chased after me. "I SMELL…THE SEA. MY BROTHER! SPEAK TO ME, PER-"

I was afraid he was going to say my name because you never know who's around, but he stopped when I heard another voice. "Hey, big and ugly! Remember me? Why do I always have to kill you? Every single time! I can't get a break! It's me, NOBODY!" Polyphemus roared in annoyance. I didn't know who it was, but I didn't have time to complain. This was the diversion. I yelled, "NOW!"

I heard a popping sound as a huge boulder slammed into Polyphemus' head. I looked in the direction of the boulder and saw that Leo had made a catapult out of a tree in less than five minutes. Thank Hephaestus for that.

When he was staggering, I made the mud he was stepping in rock solid, so when he stepped in it with both feet, he was stuck for a little while. A lightning bolt struck him in the chest, and arced its way through his body, painfully electrocuting him. When he opened his disgusting mouth, Reyna through her sword into the mouth; a beautiful bulls-eye. I gathered a huge wave made of rainwater, made a huge fist, and punched him to the ground, breaking his feet out of the mud prison I had him in. His feet were now surrounded by huge brown rocks, making him even slower. After he fell to the ground, I looked at the next component of the plan.

Leo leapt to the ground. He snapped his finger and his thumb caught on fire. He carefully put his thumb so it was touching the ground, and the fire caught onto all the wood. He put his hand out and controlled the flow of the fire. That's pretty difficult because fire is out of control, raging. He controlled it so it created a 50 foot wide circle of fire around the Cyclops.

I put my two fingers in my mouth and whistled. Piper jumped from her branch onto the Cyclops' stomach. Jason, Reyna, Leo, and I all looked at each other and nodded. We covered our ears the best we could. Piper spoke in a sing-song voice. "You're going to stay here now. You're surrounded by a circle of fire, so if you move anywhere, you will die."

It was completely a bluff, but Piper continued.

"You will stay here in a fetal position until I tell you otherwise. Okay?"

Polyphemus nodded slowly and curled up in a fetal position. He closed his eyes, and went to sleep. It looked pretty scary for a full grown Cyclops to do it, but hey, we beat him. Piper jumped off his stomach, and over the fire. Jason hugged her in congratulations, and Reyna looked bummed out because she just lost her sword. Leo was focusing on the fire, making sure that it doesn't spin wildly out of control, and dissembling the catapult at a superhuman speed.

I heard behind me, "Nice going. Seaweed Brain."

It can't be. I turned around, and there, holding up her Yankees hat, was Annabeth Chase. My girlfriend. Her blonde hair was sticking to her face from sweat, and she was dirty, but she still looked like a million drachmas. She was beaming at me. "Really? You aren't the smartest dude on the block. You think you could keep me away for long? Sad to say it, but you're stuck with me."

I cracked a smile.

Grover followed behind with a huge grin on his face. "Dude, the bad-ass look, I like it. Your team's pretty awesome too."

I still had the urge to wring his neck for lying to me a while ago, but I grinned and he tackled me in his famous…or infamous…goat hug. After he released, Annabeth's smile faded into a frown and slapped me in the face. "You deceived me, deceived camp, embarrassed your twin, disrespected me, and went out on your own with a bunch of people you've known for a few years rather than people you've known practically your whole life! You are such a SEAWEED BRAIN!"

I raised my eyebrow and stepped closer to her. "But I'm your Seaweed Brain. And I promise you, I will go to your arcitectural orientation. It's the least I can do to make it up to you."

She smiled sweetly and hugged me. I kissed her, and it was pretty much the best just-found-my-girlfriend-after-being-replaced-by-an-evil-twin-and-going-off-and-leading-a-group-of-badasses kiss. I heard cheering and disgust noises behind me. Jason, Piper, and Leo all cried at once, "GET A ROOM! OH WAIT, YOU ALREADY DO! SO GO THERE!"

Annabeth and I grinned in the kiss. She hugged me. I missed her so much. She whispered, "I missed you, Percy. Now can we go kick your dumbass twin now?"

I pulled back from the hug and smiled at her. "Why, yes, yes we can." And our team and Grover applauded good-naturedly. Then we heard screams in the forest…monster screams. Annabeth and I looked at each other and grinned. Annabeth smiled and said softly, "Go get em."

I put my hood up and the rest of my team followed. And we ran in the forest, weapons out, our new team together. And I'm feeling much better.

Then we heard a woman's laugh resonate throughout the forest. It sounded familiar, but I knew who she was when she spoke. She laughed again, a horrible, throaty, confident laugh.

"Hello, demigods. I have a little riddle for you."

The Sphinx.

**Thank you for all the reviews, GoddessOfWriting and WisestOwl, among others are awesome for being dedicated reviewers. I encourage everyone to share your thoughts about the story!**


	18. Chapter 18

Percy

Her laugh was horrible. But what was even more horrible was when she landed in front of us. Her lion face and bird wings hadn't changed, and she still looked hungry as ever. She could probably put an all-you-can-eat buffet out of business.

She grinned her terrible serpent smile. "Demigods. I have a little riddle for you." I sensed Jason moving off of impulse. I tried to stop him, but I was too slow. He yelled and blasted her with a lightning bolt. The lightning struck her and arced around her body. She growled, and pounced on Jason. I know how it felt…I've been there. She growled again in his face. Can't imagine that her breath smelled minty fresh from the way Jason cringed.

"Calm yourself, Roman. You have a chance to get out of this easily with no combat, so why attack now?"

Leo grimaced. "Man, she looks like Angelina Jolie mixed with Simba from the Lion King." She bared her teeth at him and he raised his hands in surrender.

Annabeth straightened up next to me. She and I have had not-so-good experiences with Sphinxes. "Just give us the riddle so we can move on. We kind of have an emergency."

The Sphinx smiled slowly. "I remember you, daughter of Athena. For you, I'll give you a tough one. A real _riddle._ Since my academic challenge wasn't good enough for you years ago."

Annabeth sighed, and made a _go on _gesture. I hoped that she would get it right. Honestly, I would've gotten her academic challenges wrong also.

The Sphinx looked around at us. "Hmm…Percy Jackson, Leo Valdez, Jason Grace, and Grover Underwood. Good. I'll give you all a riddle that fits. And by you all, I mean the couple of the year. One for Annabeth Chase…and one for Percy Jackson."

My heart stopped. I was _terrible _at riddles. Literally, if you asked me, 'Why did the chicken cross the road?' I would be stumped. Annabeth looked the same way, as if someone had smacked her. She looked at me with wide, panicking eyes. The Sphinx smirked. "Annabeth, this one's for you. What can run but never walks, has a mouth but never talks, has a head but never weeps and has a bed but never sleeps?"

Immediately, I would've given up and tried to run for it. What could it be? I looked at Annabeth and her gray eyes were moving a million miles an hour. _Please get this. Please get this. _Our team was standing behind us, hoping like hell we got the riddles correct. I was dreading my turn. I was thinking of some plan to kill her so I won't have to answer.

Then Annabeth smiled. "That's easy. A river. River-water runs, there's a river-mouth, a river-head, and a river-bed."

The Sphinx made a _not bad _face. I was thankful, and dreadful that she got it right. Because it's my turn.

She turned to me. "Now for the man of the couple….you can actually have help from any of your three male friends. This would apply to you if you were in the situation."

"Four men were in a boat on the lake. The boat turns over, and all four men sink to the bottom of the lake, yet not a single man got wet! Why is this?"

Leo protested an answer, but Jason punched him in the gut so he doubled over. We got together in a football huddle. Grover was literally sweating. I rolled my eyes. We spoke in hushed whispers so no one could hear us. "Grover! What is wrong with you?"

"We're dead, man. We're done."

Jason shook his head. "Greeks. So weak. Think about it. Look at the part that makes sense."

I repeated, "Four men were in a boat on the lake."

Jason nodded. "That makes sense."

I continued, "The boat turns over, all four men sink to the bottom of the lake."

Grover nodded after getting himself together. "That makes sense also."

I thought about it. "What doesn't make sense is that they didn't get wet."

Leo shook his head. "You have to go back to the riddle and read it word-for-word. 'Not a single man got wet.'"

Grover looked at him. "How is that going to help us? Percy, we need your girlfriend."

Leo rolled his eyes. "That's why being solo is best. Y'all are too dependent on your girls for help-"

Jason laughed. "Leo, you have no right to talk since you're single."

A lightbulb went off in my head. "Guys. Jason just said single. That's an alternate meaning of the word. If a man's single, that means that they don't have spouses or girlfriends. The riddle said, 'Not a single man got wet.'"

Jason looked wary. "That's true, but are you sure? This could mean anything."

Grover took a deep breath, and Leo looked at me.

The Sphinx roared. Her mouth was almost as big as my morning yawn. I saw Annabeth looking at the Sphinx and smiling because she was thinking the same thing.

"TIME'S UP, MALES! What is your final answer?" She crouched down like she was getting ready to pounce and eat us for dinner. That's ridiculous. We would taste horrible. I would taste like raw fish, Jason would taste like an eagle, Leo would taste like burnt chicken, and Grover would taste like a goat.

Our girls were looking nervous as ever, and Reyna's hand was creeping up to her sword. Real faith in us, huh?

The Sphinx turned towards me. "Answer, Jackson."

I took a shaky breath. "Not a single man got wet because they were all…married."

The Sphinx's eyes widened. "That's…that's correct…how did you-" She stopped as she dissolved into smoke. She wailed, until she was just a wisp in the air.

Annabeth looked at me in a different way. "Percy…even _I_ didn't even know the answer to the riddle."

I guess that's the way a girlfriend looks at her boyfriend when they're on the same intelligence level. I grinned. "Intelligence of the alpha males. And Leo." Jason and Grover laughed, while Leo pouted by himself in the woods.

We started running until we finally made it to a beach. It was disgusting. The sand was dark brown, full of glass, and other miscellaneous items (you like the big word?). It was a task by itself to avoid getting cut or stepping on a Lego. You ever have the feeling when you step on a toy or a Lego or you stub your pinky and you feel like the world's going to end? That's what I was trying to avoid.

We made it to the edge of the water, and I felt strong. Like extremely strong here. But there was no one here. This was Yancy Academy. No doubt about that because of the condition this beach is in.

The ground suddenly shook. There was a roar in the air. I heard Perseus' voice resonate throughout the whole beach. Leo's eyes widened. "Percy, isn't that you?" Jason hit Leo again.

"Demigods. Leave Percy to me. You can leave out of here totally safe if you leave him here alone with me. Otherwise, I will be forced to take action."

Annabeth smiled. "Fat already know the answer you-" and she said things that Ares would be embarrassed of.

Perseus laughed a little. "Fine. Don't say I didn't warn you." And the ground shook again. Then, out of the ocean rose demons with dog faces…telekhines. Same ones I had to face before I got blasted to Calypso's island. They rose out the seawater in the hundreds…thousands of them. They were armed with spears and shields. I heard Perseus' voice in my head. _'Brace yourself, clone.' _Clone? Everyone knows he's the clone. But I didn't get to finish my statement when a huge 40 foot long tentacle burst out the water. It flew towards us and we had to duck to avoid it. The head of it started to rise out the water.

Annabeth pointed at the monster. "Percy, there he is." I looked in the distance, and saw Perseus standing on top of the creature's head. He was wearing a long, black trench-coat with black baggy sweatpants on. He had a black Greek helm that shadowed over his entire face…_my _entire face similar to the magic of my hood. His undershirt was green to match his eyes. I didn't know we were a fashion artist now.

He grinned at us, and held up his sword…it was celestial bronze now. He took off his helm to reveal my face…wait…did I really look that fat in a trench-coat?

He yelled to us, "I LIED! I'M NOT YOUR EVIL SIDE! DON'T YOU GET IT, PERCY? I AM THE REAL ONE! THE REAL PERSEUS JACKSON! YOUR MEMORIES ARE IMPLANTS! YOU BROUGHT OUT THE WORST IN ME!"

That's…that's impossible. I remember everything. Images flashed through my mind…from Chiron tossing me Riptide at 12 years old, to ripping off the horn of the Minotaur, to meeting Annabeth, to going in the Underworld to accuse Hades of being the Lightning Thief, to be on the ship headed towards the Sea of Monsters with Clarisse, to winning the chariot race and presenting Tyson as my half-brother, to Annabeth kissing me on the cheek, to fighting Ares, to holding up the sky which was Atlas' curse, to watching Zoe die and be reincarnated in the stars as a Hunter, to Annabeth kissing me in the Labyrinth, to Calypso taking care of me and asking me to stay, to fighting Luke, to Beckendorf nodding at me when he reached his hand to his wrist, to bathing in the Styx, to making the big decision to give Luke the knife, to kissing Annabeth underwater, to being found by Lupa in the woods, to losing my memory, to meeting Reyna, Frank, and Hazel, to drinking gorgon's blood against Phineas in a wager to the death, to watching the Greek warship come down towards Camp Jupiter, to hugging Annabeth, to meeting Jason, to heading to Rome, to putting Gaea back to sleep, to my graduation…all of those were real….weren't they?

I woke up to Annabeth snapping her fingers in my face. "PERCY! Let's go, telekhines starting to attack here!" I shook my head to wake myself up. Perseus was gone from off the creature's head…could it be that he was the real one? That those memories were implanted? No..that's impossible. I'm the real one…Poseidon said it himself. _You're breaking the rules, Poseidon. _

The sea monster rose its head, and I almost stumbled over myself scrambling back. It was the Kraken. _THE Kraken! _What if I actually am the clone? And he's the real one? And he got so upset that he destroyed all his…all _our _values of heroics and degenerated into insanity?

Annabeth looked at me. I was panicking. She grabbed my shoulders and looked into my eyes.

"Percy. Look. You're the real one. I know that, because I've been with you this whole time. I've watched you grow from an immature little boy to a Greek hero capable of anything. I've watched you grow from a boy I despised to the man I've come to know and love. Do not let him get in your head. Janus and Ate know that they can't stop you physically, so they're going for the greatest trap of all; the mind. Simple psychology. No, no, look at me. You are Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon and Sally Jackson. Two great people. Act like it. GO!"

A golden trident blazed on the chest of the outfit. I woke up. She was right. I looked at her. "You can handle the telekhines on your own?" She rolled her eyes. "Of course. But take me with you."

I put my two fingers in my mouth and whistled. A black figure swooped down from the sky and carried Annabeth and I on its back. Like the original Perseus, I was going to face the Kraken. Blackjack flew Annabeth and I out towards the ocean where the Kraken roared. Another tentacle shot out and narrowly missed us. I spurred Blackjack and he dove towards the sea monster. Annabeth threw her knife, and impaled one open eye. The monster roared.

I got out Riptide, and slashed its other giant eye. It turned red almost instantly, and it roared. It inhaled, creating an irresistible force of wind coming towards its mouth. We flew into the huge, disgusting mouth.

At the last minute, I threw Annabeth and Blackjack up as far as I could so they landed on the creature's forehead, and flew off. I don't know how I found the strength, but I did.

I landed in its mouth.

Put 'being in a Kraken's mouth' as one of the most disgusting experiences you will ever have in your life. Mucus and slime hung off its brown teeth. They weren't even yellow. They were straight up brown. I held on to a molar for dear life. The Kraken closed its mouth, so I was stuck here. This place was disgusting. Wait…actually…another lightbulb went off over my head. Two ideas! I was on a roll.

I held out my hand and concentrated while using the other hand to hold on to the tooth. I felt the power of the sea. Good. I looked around. I saw the little dangly thing in the back of people's mouths…the uvula? I think? Krakens have uvulas?

Sorry, ADHD. Plan into action. I carefully made my way to the back of the teeth. I had Riptide in my hand, and threw it at the uvula.

It struck, and stayed there. A blast of sound came from the back of its huge throat so loud I had to cover my ears to avoid dying from it. It was roaring.

The thing opened its huge mouth to copy me and try one of my morning yawns. This was the chance. I put my hand out and felt a huge tugging sensation in my gut. 1000 gallons of seawater crashed into the Kraken's mouth.

It filled his disgusting mouth, submerging everything under water. New strength surged in me as I was put underwater, and I swam out of the mouth.

I was underwater, and I swam to the surface. I burst out the water, and immediately Annabeth and Blackjack picked me up. Annabeth held out her arm. "COME ON, SEAWEED BRAIN!" I reached Annabeth's arm and she pulled me up.

"You okay, Percy?"

I made myself dry, and created a huge wave that crashed into the creature. It staggered the thing a little bit. Annabeth asked, "What's your plan? I know you have a plan."

I just looked back at her and grinned. "Hygiene. That's this creature's biggest problem."

I made out of the water a huge object and turned it into ice...a toothbrush. I made the several bristles and kept those made out of seawater since those are supposed to be soft. Safety and comfort first.

I laughed and made a huge fist out of water and punched the creature.

"OPEN WIDE!" I yelled. The Kraken roared back and I stuck the huge toothbrush in. And I controlled it with my hands...water telekinesis or something. I moved it back and forth as we flew in a circle around the monster to avoid its tentacles.

Back and forth. Brushing its teeth. Hard. Brutally. Like a mother brushes her fat kid's teeth when he eats too much candy. I brushed the top ones, then the bottoms, then the back ones, then moved back to the top, then the bottom. Then brushed the tongue.

Literally, as I was brushing, the dirt came off like a layer of dust. It was literally 3 shades lighter after one stroke. The teeth started to bleed because I was brushing them so brutally.

Back and forth. Just like Ms. Sally Jackson taught me. Dirt came off the teeth and into the creature's esophagus. Down its throat. All the mucus, the seaweed, the dirt, the boat parts, the human bodies, the skeletons, the blood, the swords, and the rocks.

It started to choke. Brushing done. I dropped the toothbrush into its mouth, and the toothbrush pushed everything down its throat. It started to choke even more, violently, until it roared one last time as it crashed underwater and into the depths of the sea. I looked at Annabeth. She shook her head in awe.

"I don't know how you come up with these plans."

"I don't either. Look, I need to go down there. I can sense Perseus down there. Underwater, of course. Cover me?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes, and I surprised her when I kissed her. "This might be my last time doing that. But promise you, if we make it out alive, I'll go to the orientation and your first presentation."

Annabeth smiled. "That'd be nice. And...maybe we...will...go...visit...your...father...in the ocean. Don't get too excited, that's only if you come back."

You don't understand the significance of this statement. Annabeth saying that she would visit her future father-in-law in the ocean even though the future father-in-law is sworn enemies with her mother, which is my future mother-in-law. Dad has hotels, entertainment, palaces, everything...I'll tell you later.

Anyway, I smiled at her one last time. She put my hood up and pushed me off Blackjack. I plunged into the ocean, and followed my senses.

I swam down and down. It was supposed to be totally dark how far I was down in the ocean, but I used my infrared vision.

I swam through reefs, and in between schools of fish, until I finally saw a huge palace. Poseidon's palace.

It was humongous; made out of marble and gold. It had pillars and columns in the middle like the Parthenon(thank you, Annabeth). Mermaids and mermen, sea creatures and fish, sharks and eels, all sea creatures were swimming around it. There was a huge throne. Poseidon was probably sitting on it. I needed to get to him, and fast. I swam towards it, but as soon as I did, an army of mermen...not mermaids...mermen...swam in front of me.

All armed with swords, spears, shields, and bows and arrows. They saw me swimming towards them. The lead one above them all was holding a trident. He turned towards me, and it was...Triton! His green scaly skin, black hair, and cocky look hadn't changed. He was working with Perseus? I guess so, since we're brothers.

He saw me and smiled. "There he is." The army attacked. I was punching, kicking, spinning, stabbing, slicing, disarming, yelling, and overall kicking their asses. The mermen soldiers were as strong as me in water, but their sword-fighting left alot to be accounted for. I went through the army like toy soldiers, until I got to my half brother.

We stood 10 feet away from each other. I had Riptide at my side, he had his golden trident. He was clothed in dark blue armor. He smiled like a snake...which he is. "Brother. How nice to see you. You know your twin is waiting for you, right?"

I gritted my teeth. What is up with my family these days? "Just let me get to Poseidon. I need to speak to him. And find Perseus."

Triton laughed good-naturedly. "Ever since your sixteenth birthday, you've gotten all the attention. Not Triton, though. The messenger god. We have the same father, and I was the commander of his army...until you showed up. As soon as you were born, he payed you the most attention. Chosen one of the Great Prophecy. One of the chosen ones of the Prophecy of the Seven. Congratulations. Now you're the chosen one of your death."


	19. Chapter 19

Percy

Triton swam at me with his trident out, looking to run me through. This wasn't the first time I've faced a god. They think they're so high and mighty.

I parried the trident, then kicked it away from him. He gritted his teeth in annoyance and held his hand out. The trident flew back into his hand. He pointed at me and blasted a green energy blast. I absorbed it with Riptide. Riptide was now glowing green. It was absorbing any sea-based energy around me. I grinned. Cool.

Triton yelled and the trident changed into two golden swords. He attacked me with blinding speed. I barely got Riptide up to parry his left sword. The right sword cut into my side, spilling blood into the water. I grimaced, but the wound healed instantly. Triton's cocky smile faded.

I grinned. "What's the matter? Not a human demigod, so you can't heal in water? Too bad."

I swam at him as fast as I could, catching him off guard. I knocked the sword out his left hand, then kicked the sword out his right hand. I finished with a nice punch in his face. His body jerked back from the force of the strike.

I wrestled him to the sea floor. He stepped on a sea urchin, yelled, kicked me away, and summoned his swords.

He came at me again, but I created a whirlpool like 5 feet away from him, pulling him in and spinning him around in it. He was protesting and calling me ancient Greek curses. I stood right in front of him, put a finger to my mouth, and blew on my finger. From my finger, the water around it started to freeze into ice. The ice reached Triton, and his entire body started to form icicles. His speech started to slow as his body temperature dropped.

"Damn…human…think…he…can…beat…me…I'm…a…" And his eyes got froze over.

"A nice fish popsicle. Really, all my brothers should consider serious therapy." I finished for him.

It would melt within a few days due to the change of temperature from the water and the ice, but it should keep in submission for a while. I gave him one last look; his face frozen in an angry expression. I sighed and swam over to him. I drew an ice smiley face on his iced-over head.

I turned around to see someone...something...forming in front of me. A whirlpool spun in the water until it was the form of a tall green woman with five arms with five swords in them. Her skin was made of green dragon scales, and her hair was long and jet black. I wonder if everyone from the sea sport jet black hair. She was clapping sarcastically.

She growled at me. "Under the command of Perseus, I have been sent to protect this palace at all costs. What is your business attacking his general of his army?"

I made a surprised face, and spoke in my raspy voice again. "The general? I never knew. I thought he was a regular citizen. Who are you, anyway?"

The woman roared. There these women go again with the unexpected bursts of testosterone. "I AM KERO! Goddess of the sea. I work at Perseus' side. And you…will die."

She attacked in a whirlwind of swords. I moved my sword at superspeed to avoid being beheaded by one of them. When I finished parrying them, I took off my hood. As expected, it caught her off guard. "Master. I'm...I'm so sorry. Please forgive me. You saw that I was doing this in your name...so I can't be blamed..."

I shook my head. "The only way I can forgive you is if you swim out in the depths of the ocean, find me a box of powdered donuts, and bring it to me. Quickly." And there she went. She looked like a boat rudder with her five hands moving in circles swimming away. Never saw her again.

I took a deep breath and swam towards the palace. I finally got to the entrance, and walked on the marble walking ground. 10 heavily armed mermen stood in a line to my left and 10 to my right. Both lines led to the throne. I looked on the throne, and at the foot of it...lay three bearded men...Zeus...Poseidon...and Hades.

In golden chains. They looked completely helpless. Their hair on their head and on their face had turned gray. And on the throne; sat me. Perseus. In his black trench-coat with sweatpants. He was sitting lazily on the throne.

He grinned at me and had a huge golden and silver trident in his hand. The Trident. Poseidon's. I looked in horror from the Big Three laying on the ground to Perseus on the throne. "How...did you..."

Perseus laughed. "You don't know your own power. Because you never used your real powers. We defeated Ares, the god of WAR, at 12 years old. We've grown. It's been 6 years since then. We've become much better fighters over the time. And the curse of Achilles helped also. You see, I didn't overpower them. I simply attacked them and they couldn't fight me without breaking the ancient rules. When they were aware of my existence, they dubbed me your responsibility. A half-blood's. Meaning that if they intervene, they're breaking the rules. So I attacked them, and they defended themselves, but it wasn't enough. You don't know your own power. You don't think you could summon all the sea monsters I have, command Poseidon's army like I have, and bring down all the gods? Please."

Perseus stood up and banged the trident on the ground, a sound that resonated throughout the whole ocean. "You've killed my monsters, sunk my Kraken, defeated my army, froze my general, and scared away my right hand woman. You, clone, have been a royal pain in the ass. So come on then."

He walked down the steps of his throne. "On guard, Percy."

I put on my hood to mask a face of anger. I realized that this costume enhanced my abilities. "Let's dance, shall we?"

And we charged each other. He shot a golden energy blast that struck me in the chest. I went flying at 100 mph straight back through the ocean.

I saw Perseus take off and swim after me at 200 mph, punching me down to the sea bed. I crashed into the underwater sand. I stood up shakily, just in time to see Perseus swimming towards me trying to impale me with the trident.

I barely got Riptide up to stop him, then tried a sweeping kick. He grabbed my ankle, then threw me up through the water and out the surface. He was strong. Must've absorbed the power of the Big Three. How could I beat him with that kind of power, and the curse of Achilles? My plan might not even work. I flew an extra 100 feet into the air, and everything slowed down again.

I heard a voice in my mind. _My son, all hope is not lost. Perseus is right about one thing. You have too many inhibitions. Let me fix them. _I closed my eyes and opened my mind. All my memories flashed through my mind again. I could feel someone poking around, then taking some stuff out. I hoped it was something useless like math lessons. _There. Focus on the task. Carry out your plan. If you don't stop him. He will take over the whole world. Using your power. Go. Defeat yourself. It's a test of wills. Win the battle. For Annabeth. For your mother. GO! _

And I felt Poseidon leave me. Everything went normal speed again. I felt...strong...quick..and fluid, like water. I wonder what Poseidon had given me. I fell to the water, and as soon as I hit the water, Perseus grabbed me by the arm. I wrenched my arm away from him, grabbed _his _ankle, and threw him out into the water. He flew at an unbridled speed and crashed into a pedestal of the throne room. I swam after him, and punched him away from the throne room.

He blasted energy from his trident, but I deflected it back at him. It hit him square in the chest, staggering him a little. My chance. I rushed over...but he grabbed me. I struggled, but he had me in an iron grip. "Pathetic...little...creature..." he said.

Then, I wished I was slippery...like an eel. I felt my body shrinking and elongating until I was a wriggling eel, that slipped right out of his grasp. His eyes widened with realization and surprise, and grabbed me again, but I slipped out of the grip again.

Where did that come from...Poseidon. This is the gift of Poseidon that Frank has. To turn into animals. If eels could grin, I was to the best of my ability. I turned into a swordfish, and poked Perseus' eyes, a soft spot. Perseus screamed and held his eye even though it would heal. I turned human instantly, grabbed his green shirt, and threw him up towards the surface. I swam up as fast as I could to match his progress.

We both burst through the water at the same time. I yelled, "ARION!" while in the air, and sure enough, the black/golden horse was there in a flash of sunlight, had both of us on its back, and moved at the speed of light to the destination.

When he reached there in less than half a second, I kicked Perseus off.

I patted the horse' back, jumped off the creature, and Perseus and I fell 50 feet to the ground. I landed on my feet, and Perseus landed hard.

Perseus got up quickly and started to look around. I didn't give him time to.

I turned into a huge gorilla, roared, and smacked him 60 feet so he smashed into a tree. Perseus got up, and shook his head in anger. "I don't know where you got this power from, but I really don't care. I'll kill you anyway."

He charged me from 60 feet away and I turned human. I reached my hand out and the whole river next to us rose out of the riverbank, and formed a huge wave over the both of us. Perseus looked up, and a fear flashed across his face for a split second. He went back to his cocky expression when he yelled, "REALLY? YOU'RE a FOOL. A wave? You think that's going to hurt me?"

I grinned. "Not just a wave. We're in Roman territory now. The Little Tiber wave."

Perseus' eyes widened even more in recognition, and he scrambled to run as far away as possible.

It was futile. I put my hands down, and had the wave crash down right on the both of us. After the water subsided, I saw him stand up shakily with steam coming off his body like he had just taken a hot shower.

I shook my head in mock pity. "No more Achilles' curse for you. I'm sorry. Now it's actually an even fight."

Hera's words flashed in my mind when I had carried her across this river, _You'll feel pain, misery, and loss beyond anything you've ever known. _

He breathed, then smiled and clapped. "That was impressive. Didn't think of that one. Too bad I'm still more powerful than you."

He raised his hand and the Trident flew into it. He tapped it on the ground, and it turned into a golden sword similar to Riptide in appearance, but I suspect it's more powerful.

He made a thinking face, then tapped the sword on the ground again to make it black. "There we go. I like black."

I got up Riptide, determined expression on my face. I still felt strong. "Let's do this."

Perseus studied me and raised his eyebrow. "Gladly. Finally, the clone reaches his potential. Let's see how far it will get him."

I spun Riptide. "I'm the original. The one and only."

He smiled like a certain Sphinx. "Show me, then."


	20. Chapter 20

Percy

He and I charged. His black trench-coat flew in the wind. Where did he even get that from? Probably stole one from a shop like Travis and Connor like to do. His face twisted into one of pure anger and insanity. Once again, it scared me because I know that I could be like him if I lost my mind and looked at the negative in life.

Our blades intercepted in the air, in the sheer shock of the meeting created a wave of invisible force that totaled trees and any other structures in the area. It knocked both of us opposite ways; I landed on the grass and he crashed into a fallen tree. He winced and grimaced, probably because he wasn't used to pain. I doubt he even felt it before.

He got up and laughed. My clone tapped the sword on the ground, and it morphed into the trident.

"I will still kill you, clone. Foolish. Ignorant. You could have all the power in the WORLD!" He yelled and shot a green energy blast that I knocked away with Riptide. He tried it again, and I deflected it back at him, but he rolled out the way. I grinned. "So you defeat the Big Three of the gods, and you claim you could rule the world, take the gods' place. But it seems you can't even destroy a single man."

He raised his eyebrow. "I'm the master at taunts, clone."

I yawned to show my indifference. He gritted his teeth in annoyance and ran at me at blinding speed. _Come on, come on. _When he was about to stab with the trident, I leapt over him using Lupa's agility, and while I was landing, I kicked him in the back of the head. I used the river to create 2 water fists and punched him hundreds of feet back.

He reminded me of Kronos a few years ago; the way that he fought mercilessly and was totally prepared to kill someone no matter what the reason. With the few seconds I had, I looked around the area. There were a flock of fallen trees from that little explosion and mountains in the distance. There was the river. We were in Roman territory. Then, I had an idea. Something that might work. Something that was crazy. But considering that I'm facing my evil clone by myself and the gods are out of commission, now is not the time for rational plans.

I concentrated on flying. Something that could fly. That's what I needed. I felt my body shrink, and my nose expand (which made me really self-conscious). My skin melted into feathers, and my arms melted into wings. I wasn't an eagle, since that was Zeus' animal. I was a peregrine falcon. Nice.

Perseus looked up at me and his eyes widened. He scrambled up from his position and ran towards me. "YOU COWARD! Stay here and fight!" But I took off to the sky.

Flying. Felt. Amazing. Literally, there was nothing in the world that feels better than being able to go anywhere you wanted whenever you wanted. I flew way above the trees and towards the mountain. I looked below.

Now, I know that you've heard of a hawk's eye, or hawkeye, or eagle's eye, or whatever. Those are all understatements. As a hawk/falcon, you can see everything. And I mean _everything. _I could see ants on the ground, the dust still lingering on the trees, squirrels with their nuts in their cheeks.

I saw Perseus looking up at me and running towards the mountain. Perfect. I soared in the sky to the very top of the mountain, which would at least buy me some time.

When I landed on the top of the mountain, I turned into human form and saw Perseus running to the foot of the mountain. I looked at him in triumph, and put my hands on my knees and panted. That really took a lot out of you. My little rest period was interrupted from a familiar voice.

"Perseus Jackson. How…good to see you again."

I turned around to face a tall being in all black robes that covered his whole body. Why didn't I sense him? He had in his hand a large sickle, and he wore black gloves. I recognized him from the chains on his feet. His presence in a battle doesn't really inspire the fighters in it. The embodiment of Death himself.

"Thanatos. It's been a while. I'm guessing you're not here to wish me luck in this fight."

Thanatos nodded and took off his hood to reveal that ridiculously beautiful face of his. He looked at me with dark, soulless purple eyes. He cocked his head at me as if to decipher my motive for fighting this battle. Then he nodded like he got his answer. He spoke in that deep, raspy voice of his that girls love.

"You know that you are going to die in this fight, and yet you keep battling."

I looked at him with a wary expression on my face. Did I really know that I was going to die? I guess I did.

"Yeah, but that's what heroes do. We fight to our last breath."

He stared into my eyes as if he was really trying to help me, like Prometheus during the battle in Manhattan. "I could just touch you and you would die right now. Save you the trouble of the pain of the fight. I don't know what's going to happen, but I know you're going to die."

Oh man, that was tempting. Not get beat down, and just have Death himself touch me in the forehead and just curl up and die? Oh, wait, that doesn't sound too good now.

I shook my head. "Sorry, no can do. I've lived my whole life as the underdog, and this is nothing new. So you can stand there and watch me fight to the death. If I'm going to go out-"

I spun Riptide in the air for emphasis. "-then I'm going to go out hard."

Thanatos closed his eyes and nodded as if he expected this answer. "Well, I wish you luck. Maybe you can beat the Fates. The accomplishments in your short life, I wouldn't doubt if you did. I will see you soon, Perseus Jackson."

I looked at him. "Please, call me Percy." The spirit of Death immaterialized in thin air, and the mountain started to shake. I looked down and saw Perseus with his hands up towards the sky…I remembered Hepheastus' words back in the Battle of the Labyrinth. _You're the son of the Earthshaker, lad. _

I looked in horror as Perseus was actually moving mountains. The mountain surface I was standing on started to crack and crumble. I saw a couple of huge boulders fall down and roll towards me as the mountain started to fall to the ground. I made a quick decision. Stand here and die, or pray to whatever Roman god oversees the activity of dumb bungee jumping with no bungee.

I decided to pray. I jumped off the mountain, and straightened my body up like a torpedo so I could fall at full speed. I was falling inches from the mountain, and I had falling boulders and pieces of mountain behind me.

I was falling, and the rocks were catching up. They must've been a couple feet behind me when I decided to switch strategies. I held Riptide and stabbed it into the side of the mountain that wasn't falling as hard as I could, and I stopped abruptly. I was hanging on to the swordgrip with one arm and totally supporting my body weight so I wouldn't fall. The boulders and mountain pieces fell right behind me, narrowly avoiding a painful James Bond type of death for me.

Perseus ran up and raised his hands in mock apology. "I'm sorry, clone! I couldn't just leave you up there to talk with Death himself."

I looked to the river and raised my other arm shakily. If I fell, I would have to improvise quickly. Water from the river flowed out and towards me…but then the solid mountain my sword was stuck in started to crumble also. And I fell. Meaning I would have to improvise quickly.

As I fell, I straightened up my body again as the whole mountain crumbled into a huge avalanche heading straight towards Perseus. Unfortunately, that avalanche was right behind me. I fell towards Perseus, and crashed into him like a football tackle. The momentum of the strike was so great that we both flew into the river, along with the boulders and mountains. Perseus kicked me underwater. I flew back, then had another idea. I swam out towards the boulders that were falling into the river and jumped onto them.

You ready for another physics lesson taught by my girlfriend? As the boulders were falling at _x _speed, I was hopping on top of the boulders, desperately trying to increase my speed so it was at least faster than _x_. I was trying to move faster and faster because the farther the boulders travel, the faster they roll and move, and the harder it is to make progress. Get it?

Anyway, I hopped on one of the boulders, then leapt onto another one. Then another, then another, then another, until I hopped onto shore and watched the whole avalanche tumble into the sea. I figured the National Parks and Recreation area wouldn't be too grateful for that.

I sensed danger behind me. No way. I ducked when a trident flew over my head, and I kicked the attacker out from his feet. Sure enough, it was Perseus, who somehow had gotten onto shore before I had.

He stumbled, then turned and kicked me in the chest all in one motion. I flew like 50 feet, then knocked my head on a branch of one of the still upright trees. The branch ripped off and I took a painful fall to the ground with the branch landing on top of me.

I blacked out for a moment, then came back to reality. I threw the branch off me and struggled to stand. Ow. I looked up to see Perseus make water flow to his hands. He made brass knuckles…out of ice. The water had formed into the shape of the knuckles, then he hardened it to ice. I widened my eyes and backed up.

That seemed to satisfy him. He grinned. "You always were scared. What did Annabeth say a few years ago? 'You always were a coward, Percy Jackson!'"

And every painful, bloody punch, he added something onto his speech.

WHAM! "Scared to make a move on Annabeth." Right in the side of my face. I staggered and almost fell to the ground.

WHAM! "Scared to accept that huge brute of a Cyclops as a brother." Right in the other side of my face. This time, I actually fell to the ground, my face bloody now. The ice impaled me mercilessly.

WHAM! "Scared of that punk Clarisse." He picked me up by my shirt, and punched me back to the ground. Right in my chin.

WHAM! "Scared of the Labyrinth." Right in my right shoulder, numbing my entire sword-fighting arm. I could barely move now. He was killing me. Thanatos was right.

WHAM! "Scared of that Calypso who OFFERED you a peaceful life with no troubles!" He punched me in the stomach, tearing my outfit apart. It wasn't doing me much good now.

WHAM! "Scared to bathe in the Styx!" He punched me in my legs, so I pretty much had no chance of getting away. I was going to die here.

WHAM! "Scared to make that final choice of the prophecy!" He punched me in the right eye, nearly gouging it out. My face was a bloody carcass. My hearing had already left me. Everything was numb and deaf. My eyesight was dizzy. I could see the tombstone now; _Percy Jackson, 1995-2013, died after a brutal beating by his evil clone. Tragic. _

I started to laugh thinking about it. A gleeful, euphoric, apathetic laugh(thank you, oh amazing daughter of Athena girlfriend). A laugh that people do when they know they're going to die. Perseus' face twisted in confusion and he paused in his next punch.

"Why are you laughing?"

"…heh…because…you're such…a…coward…a loser…worse than Kronos…Ares…and…Smelly Gabe…"

He roared and kicked me in the stomach, and I rolled over in pain. Spots appeared in my vision.

I thought about Annabeth. How would she feel if I didn't at least put up a fight here? I struggled to get my thoughts together. This was for Annabeth. The love of my life.

When Perseus was bringing down his next punch, I summoned all my strength and intercepted with Riptide, so when the ice fist met the awesome sword, the knuckles shattered and an ice shard flew into Perseus' eye. He dropped his trident and clutched his eye, screaming and cursing. I took this chance to stand up despite my deadly injuries, kick him to the ground, and drop a fallen tree on him.

I stood over him, bloody, beaten, and about to fall over from exhaustion and injuries.

"You might want to see a doctor about that. That looks bad. You've been smoking? You have to stay away from that stuff."

Perseus yelled and struggled from either the eye or my sarcastic comments, but either way he was trapped.

I then remembered the Sphinx's words to Annabeth. The part about the river. The way she looked at me in that strange way when she said that this was going to be useful and would apply to me. I remembered Athena's comment way back in the war against Kronos, _Remember the rivers. _

I staggered over to the river, the little Tiber. Perseus realized what I was doing, and regardless of his little optometric problem, raised his hand and the trident flew to his hands. He yelled, and a blast of green energy erupted from it. I was 20 feet away from it…15 feet…10 feet…5 feet…when the energy blast hit me in the back of my knees. I heard a sickening _crack _and I crumpled to the ground. He broke both of my knees in one blast.

I was done. I was 3 feet from the water when I had fallen to the ground. So close…but so far. He threw the tree off him and stood up, 6 feet of pure evilness. He strode towards me in a brisk walk as I tried to pull myself to the water. I struggled to pull my whole body with my left hand. I was 2 feet away now.

Perseus broke into a sprint and he was right there getting ready to impale me with the trident, but luckily his injuries slowed him down. I was about to reach the tip of the water with my left fingers when a boot came down and crushed my hand. All the bones in my hand broke.

Perseus was standing over me with a triumphant grin. Then a burst of brilliant silver light emanated from right behind him. Perseus didn't seem to recognize it, but a wolf was in the silvery light. She snarled at me. "Cowardice will get you nowhere. Get up, weakling, and use your power. Do not fail me."

I looked towards the water and yelled.

I used the wolf power. I summoned the water towards his face, and a drop landed right in his infected eye. I guess that will be his Achilles' heel for now. He screamed again, and I pulled myself into the full water so my whole body was in contact.

Getting stronger and stronger, I kept crawling and pulling myself until I got to a part of the river where I submerged my whole body into the water.

My whole body tingled as new strength surged in it. My injuries and blood cleared up immediately, and my body healed. My senses were buzzing as if I was injected with a dose of caffeine and ate a whole bunch of chocolate.

I remembered the first time I had crossed this river a few years ago, and encountered a little déjà vu.

I swam to the surface, and stood on the water by making the molecules around it just hard enough to stand and walk on. I concentrated on the river, and water flowed out the bank, like the Sphinx's riddle of a riverbank, riverbed, riverhead, and such. I turned them into hammers and fists, getting ready to play Whack-A-Evil-Clone when I saw a girl with a tree on her ankle. She was wincing, and was struggling futilely to get out from under it.

I saw a flash of blonde hair…it was _Annabeth_! I forgot all about the river and such and I sprinted on the water, past the shore, past Perseus on the ground clutching his eye and to Annabeth. Her stormy gray eyes looked at me. She had a cut on her forehead, and it was bleeding. I had to get her to the water. I reached out to her, and she dissolved into mist. I froze up in surprise and astonishment.

Then I felt a huge stabbing, killing pain erupt from my back. I looked down and saw a trident protruding from my chest. I coughed and gasped for oxygen. The once golden and clean trident was bloody…with my blood. Perseus. The whole Annabeth thing was a trick of the Mist. Good trick. Clouds formed over the spot we were under and lightning flashed.

Perseus laughed gleefully and ripped the trident out my back. I fell to the ground helplessly. I was on my knees, but couldn't hold it any longer. I fell to the ground.

I had a huge wound, and was nowhere near any water. I doubt the water could heal this anyway. My eyesight went fuzzy, and I could feel my life force leaving my body. A hand turned my head to face my clone. He leaned down so his face was inches away from mine. He spoke the last words I would hear.

"You were the clone. Weak. Pathetic. Have a nice life in the Underworld while I live your life." Then, he threw my head to the ground. I was so numb that I didn't even feel it.

He limped away from me, and raised his hands to the sky in triumph. He yelled a crazy, insane battle cry.

I was dying. I was struggling to breathe. A darkness was pressing on my chest, making it near impossible to breathe. A cold fist closed around my chest as I slipped into death. My eyesight got worse and worse, fuzzier and fuzzier until it almost went blind. My hearing disappeared, and all the senses that Lupa had taught me went to waste. They all disappeared.

But I fought. This was not the way I was going out. I stood up. I used the power of the sea inside of me. I stood and my senses came back to life. I knew that I was weak. I had one last attack in me. I raised my hands, and water flowed from the river and swirled around me. Perseus turned in complete awe. A giant hole in my chest, and I was still doing this? Don't worry, Perseus, I don't know how either.

The water flowed around me, and clouds formed around me. Just like facing Hyperion, I had my own personal hurricane around me. It extended about 20 feet into the air and 50 feet wide. I could feel my skin pale and chalk-white. I was still dying.

I expanded the hurricane so it caught Perseus into it. Sweat beaded on my forehead. I couldn't keep this up much longer. A tornado formed from my hurricane, and pulled my clone into it. He swirled around it until he got to the top and fell to the ground. Then, when he tried to rise, the rain increased and buffeted him to the point where he couldn't stand. He went to one knee.

In the clouds and in my own hurricane, lightning flashed and struck him right in the chest. He yelled and fell to the ground, his body smoking where the blast had hit him. When he stopped moving, the hurricane around me dissolved. I started getting dizzy. I was done. This was my life. I dedicated my life to good and service to my friends and to this world. Selfless behavior. I could've changed some things if I had the chance, but this was the sum total of it. Faces flashed through my eyes, ghostly images of friends replaced one another as they appeared…Luke, Beckendorf, Silena, Grover, Jason, Leo, Piper, Reyna, Hazel, Frank, Chiron, Travis and Connor, Mom, Dad...and Annabeth.

My last vision was of Thanatos standing on the top of the mountain next to the one that had crumbled. He raised his hand in farewell…or greeting? He made a three fingered claw from his heart and pushed outward. I nodded in understanding and closed my eyes. A silver tear trickled from the corner of my eye. My life was over.

_I'm sorry. _


	21. Chapter 21

Percy

I rose higher and higher, and I could see my dead body on the ground. Huge hole in the chest, eyes closed, and the tear that I allowed to slip out had dried into a dusty path on my cheek.

I had to admit, I felt kind of at peace. Calm. Tranquil. I was dead. My life was over. I wonder how they were going to burn my shroud. Like the way after I had returned from the Labyrinth? I'm not sure. The only thing left is…

Thanatos materialized in front of me and held out his hand to follow him. His face was one of sorrow and curiosity as if I was some lab rat that they had put some super chemical in and they wanted to see what he would do.

He put his hood up and flew down towards the ground. I followed him. He sank through the ground and ripples went through as if he dove into a pool. I followed him and sincerely hoped I didn't hit my head onto the ground. But I went through easily.

We spiraled down and down into darkness. Thanatos started to fly faster, and my wraith-like self had to speed up to catch up with him. Suddenly, I fell down into a large king-sized chair.

I looked around. Thanatos was at the ceiling of the place, and he nodded his head in farewell. Then he flew up, probably to collect some more souls. It was a huge dark room, only lit by several candles around the whole room. There was an overarching table that was in front of me, and three individuals sat in huge chairs around the table. It was hard to tell if they were male or female because they each had golden masks and black robes. They spoke in hushed whispers as if they didn't realize I was sitting right there. I was still in the same attire as what I had on when I died.

I cleared my throat. "Hello? Dead hero here?"

The individuals looked at me. Their masks were like the masks in horror movies that are frozen in an emotion, and theirs were all frozen in creepy smiles. They spoke in a whisper, but loud enough that I could hear them.

"Perseus Jackson. It is time for your judgment. We must hurry up because of time." They got out golden papers that they shuffled through and looked through. I sat uncomfortably as they stared at me, then back to their paperwork. Then the middle one spoke up. A big screen TV right above them turned on and showed my adventures throughout the years as if a cameraman was following me all my life.

"Let us begin. Perseus 'Percy' Jackson. 18 years of this life. Classified as Greek hero. So automatically achieves Elysium. All agree?"

The three heads nodded. The middle one got a quill and started tallying as the other two heads spoke. The right one commenced, "Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon and Sally Jackson. Let's see, he brought his mom happiness as a child."

The left one interjected, "He did get kicked out of schools for bad behavior."

The right one argued, "Blame that on the common ADHD of demigods. Let's continue. At 8 years old, met Grover Underwood, satyr protector, Lord of The Wild. Was his only friend, was nice and friendly towards him. Then, 12 years old, got blamed for stealing the Master Bolt from Zeus. Goes on quest with Grover Underwood and Annabeth Chase, demigod daughter of Athena. Gets the bolt back, returns it to Zeus."

The middle one was tallying quickly.

"Then, 13 years old, makes friends with Cyclops son of Poseidon, Tyson. Also his only friend. Is friendly and courteous towards him. Sticks up for him against demigod son of Bellona, Matthew Sloan. Goes on quest to retrieve Golden Fleece that Jason acquired a while back. Gets it, defeats evil Cyclops Polyphemus doing it. Strengthens friendship with Tyson, Grover, and Annabeth Chase. Confronts demigod son of Hermes, Luke Castellan in the process. Sends it with demigod daughter of Ares, Clarisse La Rue to protect her reputation. Accepts Tyson as a brother. Revives demigod daughter of Zeus, Thalia Grace, so any accomplishments and good acts Thalia has done will go to the credit of Perseus 'Percy' Jackson."

The middle one tallied at super speed for all the things Thalia has done good in her life.

The right one continued. "14 years old. After reviving Thalia, goes on quest with her and Grover Underwood to rescue Annabeth Chase and the Goddess of the Hunt, Artemis. Succeeds in both quests. Bears the burden of the sky. Creates plan with Artemis to put the weight of the sky back on the Titan Atlas. Honors Hunter Zoe Nightshade as a hero with the rest of the group."

The middle one was tallying like crazy. The left one started now. "14 years old, goes into the Labyrinth to complete quest and protect Camp Half-Blood from demigod son of Hermes' attack on it through Kronos. Strengthens relationship with Annabeth. She kisses him in the Labyrinth-"

I blushed like crazy. I sighed and put my head in my hands. This was going to be a long judgment.

"-and the hero defeats whole army of telekhines. Erupts volcano of Mount St. Helens, destroys town in doing it, stirs Typhon in sleep. Arrives on Calypso's island, gives her company, makes her feel good. She falls in love with him, but he leaves in sense of duty to the world as a hero. Inspires Hundred-Handed One, Briares to fight on the side of the gods. Meets Daedalus, and cleans out stables of flesh-eating horses. One of Hercules' tasks of becoming immortal. 15 years old by the end of this adventure."

The middle one must've added like a thousand marks for that. The left one continued. "15 years old. Bathes in River Styx, becomes invulnerable like Luke Castellan and Greek hero Achilles. Gets betrayed by demigod son of Hades, Nico Di Angelo, and trusts him afterwards. Defeats Hades in self-defense. Mortal girl, now host of the Oracle, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, establishes slight relationship with the hero. Leads army of demigods against Titan Lord Kronos. Defeats Kronos' army. Demigod son of Hephaestus Charles Beckendorf works together with the hero to explode Luke Castellan's ship. Defeats Kronos. Turns down immortality due to humility and desire to be in a romantic relationship with Annabeth Chase. 16 years old by the time adventure is over."

I blushed again. If this was the quickened version- I don't even know.

The right one continued. "16 years old. Loses memory. Trained by Lupa, passes her training. Reaches Roman camp. Befriends Frank and Hazel in the Roman Camp Jupiter. Restores Legion honor. Gets back the eagle of the Roman Camp. Makes deadly wager with Phineas, restores memories. Defeats Giant risen to oppose Poseidon. Visits Amazon Camp, makes peace with assistance of demigod daughter of Pluto and Marie Levesque, Hazel Levesque. Saves Ella the Harpy from Phineas. Carries Juno to camp and loses River Styx. Reunites demigod daughter of Bellona, Reyna and Queen of Amazons, Queen Hylla."

The left one started. "16 years old, unites Greek and Roman Camp. Leads the Seven demigods of the Prophecy of the seven along with demigod son of Zeus, Jason Grace. Then, he-"

Suddenly, a little eagle flew down and whispered in the middle one's ear. The middle nodded and looked down at me. "Our time has run out listing your accomplishments, Perseus 'Percy' Jackson. Your total has reached up to 900 billion and 1, making you officially dubbed as the greatest hero of Greek and Roman history. Due to accomplishments, and moral aptitude. We hereby give you Isles of the Blest."

I was overjoyed. I was proud of myself. I knew that I could wait for Annabeth. She would definitely make Isles of the Blest, and we could be together. The whole Camp crew would be there, since we were all heroes of the greatest extent. But I sensed danger. Just as the old Jackson luck promised.

Just as the middle one was lowering the mallet to make it official, the whole back of the room exploded. Outside, there was mostly darkness. Everything was gray or black. Skeletons were walking around, but there was one non-skeleton. And it was my good friend Perseus. His green shirt was totally ripped to shreds and his trenchcoat was the only thing still intact along with his sweatpants. He had no shoes, and he had a wild look in his eye as if he fought demons and got chased by ghosts all the way here.

The judges spoke in the whisper again, "So the Fates were correct." And they disappeared in thin air.

I almost forgot he was dead, and since he didn't have a soul, he didn't get judged. I scowled. Even in death, I can't escape my dark side. I forced a dry smile. "Clone! You see I'm getting Isles of the Blest here. Why are you always interrupting things! Seriously, you, Antaeus, Tyson, Triton, Polyphemus, Pegasus, and Arion all need to see a counselor. As sons of Poseidon and my brothers."

Perseus scowled, and attacked me. I picked up the chair, and his sword went through the chair. I wonder if since we're in the Underworld, we're going to be in an everlasting battle between good and evil. I threw away the chair, with his sword in it. I kicked him in the chest. He seemed real enough, as if we were out in the regular world. Except we were dead.

He fell to the dusty ground, and I leapt outside to Asphodel. Confused souls were walking around in dead silence. Skeletons were moaning, and screams of people and monsters being punished in Punishment and in Tartarus were audible.

He gritted his teeth. "You thought you could escape me, even in death. But there's no way you can escape. I will always be with you. I _am _you. And there's no water around here in the Underworld. So looks like we're stuck here. Forever."

I got out Riptide, which strangely was still in my pocket. I put my hood up because it seemed to go with the dark, ominous, depressing mood out in Asphodel. Riptide's celestial bronze glowed in the dark. I had just gotten cheated out of a fair death trial. But what had the judges said? _So the Fates were correct. _Correct about what?

But I didn't have time to think about it as Perseus attacked me with his sword turned blood red once more. And we fought. We were regular swordsmen of equal strength. It was an equal battle. Seconds turned into minutes, which turned into hours, which turned into days, which turned into a week eventually.

We delivered our fair share of blows, injuries, harm, and upper hands in the week-long battle. But none of us could die, so the battle kept raging on, full of pain. Our bodies didn't even get tired because we didn't have any bodies. One time in like the middle of the week, we got so tired of fighting (not physically, just mentally tired of the thought of fighting our twin) and we just sat down under a tree for a good 3 hours. Then we got back to fighting.

But now, I had just knocked Perseus into a depressing tree in the depressing Asphodel. I just remembered that Hades couldn't help either of us since he was still trapped under the ocean.

Perseus got up from the tree. He wiped his mouth and attacked again. I parried, and swiped at his knee. He yelled, and kicked me in the knee. I doubled over, and he gave me an uppercut that sent me flying like 10 feet and landing hard on the ground.

Then, when he was about to kick me, he went rigid and went limp like he was a robot that had gotten shut down. I looked up, and there was my old friends Grover, Annabeth, and Nico. Were they dead? Of course not, their bodies still had color to them, whereas Perseus, Nico, and I all had faded gray and black clothing and bodies.

Annabeth had her hands over her mouth and tears in her eyes, as if it hurt to see me dead and fighting Perseus. Annabeth tried to hug and kiss me, but she passed right through me, since I was a ghost in the Underworld compared to living beings. She looked like her heart was broken. Grover looked at me with a solemn, sad look. He got out a box of tissues and him and Annabeth went through them one by one.

Nico grinned. "Remember my plan from a few years to beat Kronos?"

I stood up and looked at him warily. I was ready in case Perseus decided to say 'Sike!' and attack me. "Yeah, why?" Annabeth and Grover looked at each other, and I heard Grover say like an echo, "I can't hear him. Can you?"

Annabeth shook her head dejectedly. "No, he's moving his lips, talking to Nico, but not to us. Percy! Percy, talk to us. Nico, tell us what he's saying."

Nico's eyes sparkled with a crazy, insane glow. Like father, like son. He totally ignored Annabeth. "Well, I have a plan that requires much less pain, and much more benefit for you. Except for the invulnerable part."

I looked at him. I had just gotten cheated out of Isles of the Blest by my evil twin, and have been fighting him in an endless Yin-And-Yang battle for 7 days. I wasn't in the best mood.

He grinned at me as if he did this every day. "Well? I can't keep Perseus like this for much longer, he's stronger than all the ghosts I've done this to."

I sighed. "I'm listening."


	22. Chapter 22

Nico looked at me with that weird expectant look that children of Hades specialize in after he finished explaining the plan. I thought it over. It was interesting. In a sort of 'if-it-doesn't-work-you're-dead' kind of way.

After I nodded to approve of the plan, I thought that my friends were going to help me. Instead, they started to fade.

"Wait! Where are you going? Aren't you going to help in any way?"

"We can't. It's against the rules. I can't keep him down for long, and plus, if I go into battle with him and die, that's the end of me in the actual world. So, no offense, but I'm not risking my life for you. I gave you a plan, so you can follow it or not."

I breathed and looked at him. I didn't realize how tired I was. I was literally panting. Honestly, I was disappointed in Nico. He refuses to fight because he's afraid that he'll be killed…which I just did. I gritted my teeth at him. I was ready to wring his neck just like when he betrayed me in the war against Kronos, and when he pretended not to know me at Camp Jupiter.

Nico smiled sympathetically. Annabeth reached out towards me with tears in her eyes. I looked at Nico. He explained, "She can only see your ghost. She can't hear anything, she can just see the fact that you're actually dead. And that you got cheated out of Isles of the Blest, but that's another story for another time."

I shook my head. "Just leave if you're not going to help me. If you want to be a coward and not help me, that's fine. I'll stay down here locked in eternal combat, and you all can put me as one of the Greek heroes who had a terrible death; fighting himself and locked in an eternal battle in the Underworld. And just remember the times that I saved your life. Just remember."

A shadow passed over Nico's face. I knew that I had hit a soft spot. He snapped his fingers and the group faded completely. I could see Grover mouthing the word _FOODDDD_.

I shook my head and was almost beheaded by a sword-strike. Perseus. I had almost forgotten about my wonderful brother.

I barely parried the strike because I was distracted. He shook his head. "Pity, really."

He kicked me out from my legs so I fell down. I rolled away when he tried to stab downward…right into a gaping pit in the middle of the ground. I could feel the heat coming out from the trap. The tortured screams of the pit reached my ears in a not-so-pleasant way. I barely hung onto the edge of the pit, so the only thing keeping me from a burning time was my hand.

Perseus shook his head in mock sympathy. He walked over and stepped on my fingers. Despite being dead, that didn't make it hurt any less. I screamed in pain, and he rolled his eyes.

"Honestly, Percy, do you really think that I wouldn't have thought of a plan in all this time in this hellhole. Oh, wait. You're the one going into the hellhole. It's not like it's going to hurt you. You're dead. But this is a famous Underworld trap. The only person to get out of this one is Heracles himself. And that was because of his great strength and the help from a familiar face; Achilles. So I don't think you have any of their outstanding attributes. Not strength, nor invulnerability anymore. Tch. A pity."

Did I really talk this much when I had an enemy on the ropes? I didn't have any time to think about it because he kicked me in the face, forcing me to fall into the pit.


	23. Chapter 23

Percy

Couple things about it; it was dark and _hot. _I mean even hotter than Apollo(not like that...oh gods…). I fell and fell and landed hard on a sandy pavement. I grunted and scrambled up lest I find any more unwanted surprises.

I had Riptide up and saw that the place I fell led to a room not bigger than your average classroom. It had black, red, and orange on the walls that seemed to add to the heat. I walked into the room cautiously. Around it were like 20 people. And not just people. There were centaurs, monsters, and ordinary humans in there. They were all sweating profusely and were panting. They looked like they had been through some battle. One of the monsters in there, some kind of gorgon with bull horns snarled at me.

She spoke in a raspy voice, "Son of the Sea god! Water! Water!" And the other inmates(I guess that's what you call them) took up the chant. Except one in the corner; a man in his 20's with a gruff beard as if he hadn't shaved in centuries.

I raised an eyebrow and backed up with Riptide up. "Jeez, y'all really need to get some more fluids in your system." I was hoping that the celestial bronze would scramble them, but they weren't afraid of death because they were already here. There was no water in the underworld, and I was already getting dehydrated.

They kept chanting as they attacked me. The bull gorgon flew at me, but she seemed tired, worn out. I easily sidestepped and kicked her head into a wall. 3 teenagers with swords attacked me. They, also, seemed tired and out of practice. I disarmed the first one with one swing, kicked the one parallel to him in the chest, then backflipped over the one trying to ambush me. I grabbed him in a hostage position and put Riptide to his throat. I figured if they weren't going to die, it would probably still hurt if I slit his throat.

"All of you back up. Now. Back up or his throat is getting slit here and now. And I mean it. NOW! Against the wall!"

The inmates didn't care about their companion apparently. They charged all the same. I threw away my 'hostage' and took on the five attacking me at once. 2 guys, three girls. These were grown men and women, meaning they were going to be a little harder to beat.

I leapt in the air and kicked one man in the face. He tumbled into a girl. I parried the girl's attack, then struck. She parried and back-flipped away from me. She was baiting me. I wisely held my ground until I sensed the ambush coming from my back-left spot; my blind spot.

I felt a hammer hit me in the head and I went down. The woman that was trying to bait me came up and kicked me in the face. My nose was bleeding now. She picked me by the shirt. She had dark brown hair that looked like a rat's nest. She had this insane look in her eyes compared to the apathetic look of the guy in the corner. Her eyes were a deep brown. She looked like she would've been pretty in another time, another world. And yet she still had some aura that gave her the impression of being divine.

She spoke in ancient Greek, "_Give us water, son of Poseidon. Or we cut you open and find some ourselves. Zeus will bless me." _

I raised an eyebrow. Why was she claiming that Zeus was on her side when she was threatening me? I cursed myself. I had been too careless. I let my guard down and let them get into my blind spot. Even though every warrior has one, it can be hidden.

The girl slapped me. "_Answer me, male. Or we kill you. We've been in this prison for too long." _

I looked at her in the eyes. "_That isn't my fault. But now, I'm in here with you, so we should help each other." _

She threw me to the ground. One of the men that had recovered picked me up from each side, holding me up against the wall. I could barely think. It was too hot. And the fall was at least 200 feet. There was no way that I was getting out. I was going to stay here forever-wait, that's the prison's magic. It's making you feel hopeless. Snap out of it. Annabeth. Grover. Camp. Mom. Think about it. Relax.

Another warrior came up and punched me in the gut. I wheezed and practically spit out a breath. This was going to be much worse than I thought. If I moved fast, I could take out the two guards and-woah. A girl who had been AWOL during the little skirmish aimed an arrow at my throat. I was trapped.

The warrior sneered and curled his lip up in disgust. "Give us water, fool."

I saw sudden movement out the corner of my eye. The man in the corner was gone. I suddenly saw five prisoners go down at once. The man! He was about 6'1, with long brown hair, brown eyes, and a lot of facial hair. He was a beast. He punched one of the prisoners in the face, and they went down immediately. He turned around and kicked the centaur trying to ambush him from behind. He flipped one of the warriors over his shoulder and kicked him. He flipped over one of the girls, grabbed her old armor strap, and threw her towards the two other girls like bowling balls. She crashed into the two, sending them sprawling. A swordsmen tried to approach him, yelling in Greek, "_STAND DOWN! Your glory days are over, fool. You chose this life!" _

I had no idea what he was talking about. Who chose this life? Why would anybody choose this life? What did he do? I pushed the hundred questions out my mind and I watched as the guy grabbed the swordsman's hand and slammed it against the wall, disarming him. He kicked the dude in a soft spot and threw him into two other people trying to sneak him. He picked up the sword. He had about 8 more swordsmen to deal with. The two holding me up dropped me roughly, then stood with the other swordsmen. Now he had 10. I held my side, which felt like it was on fire from being elevated for so long.

I then saw that they had formed a circle around the guy. I picked up Riptide and flipped over the circle so I was back to back with the barehand stranger.

"Need some help? Because honestly, I don't know why your friends are trying to eat me. I would taste like sweaty fish."

The stranger laughed a deep, husky laugh. He rasped in ancient Greek also, "_I would appreciate it." _

The crowd attacked us. I disarmed one, kicked another in the chest, and threw one over my shoulder to the stranger who elbowed the warrior in the chest and threw him to the warriors. The stranger was a master with the sword also. He didn't seem out of practice like the others. He elbowed one in the face, then slashed someone's side, putting them down. Then it was time for the finish. I don't know how he knew it, but it was as if we worked together forever.

I backflipped over the stranger, who caught my ankles with his hands, and spun me around in a circle before I could hit the ground. I was outstretched, Riptide out, moving in a perfect circle at like 50 mph. Any person in a 10 foot radius was slashed in a fatal way. 6 foot for my body spinning, then about four feet for Riptide. We took out all but one with that, and when there was one left, the stranger threw me at the last warrior. I flew like a torpedo in the air and gave him a nice flying punch in the face that sent him flying. He hit the wall, then crumpled.

I pushed off the wall and landed on my feet. I looked at the stranger. The shadows covered half his face. He cocked his head as he studied me. We were only like 10 feet apart, but it still felt awkward.

"_Why are you down here?" _

I looked at him. Should I tell him what it is? He just saved my life-I mean saved me from a beating, so why shouldn't I? "An enemy of mine pushed me down here."

Thankfully, the stranger didn't pry or anything. He just stared at me. But I decided to counter. "Who are you? Why are you down here? What is this place?"

He cocked his head. "_What language are you speaking?" _

I blinked. I was speaking Engli-oh, wait, he only understands Greek. "_My apologies. My main language is English, in the land of Britain and England. Who are you? Why are you down here? What is this place?" _

He finally nodded as if he understood. "_This place is a prison. A torture chamber of the worst kind. It's not the worst physically, but it tortures you mentally and physically. As you can see, it's extremely hot down here with now water and you're surrounded by insane warriors who are out to eat you. You must survive and be able to put dehydration and weakness from lack of fluids out your mind. That challenges you physically. The mental part is that several people have tried to get out of this chamber the way that you came in, but they all failed. All of the people we just fought tried to climb, but they fell. It was too hot. It had magic also…it played back your worst moments in your life as you climb so you're distracted and distraught. Exit is so easy and simple, and yet it is so difficult and unattainable." _

I was amazed. And disgusted. And angry. Who would make this kind of a prison? What kind of bad people would reside here as punishment for their crimes? Am I going to stay here forever?

As if reading my thoughts, the stranger answered, "_The only way to escape is to climb. Climbing the 200 foot rise is the easy part. The memories and mental challenges are the worst part. To answer your second question, I am down here because I took the blame for my love. Since then, she switched places with me. She's in Isles of the Blest, and I'm down here." _

I stared at him in awe. That was actually something that I could relate to now. "_You actually gave up Isles of the Blest for your girlfriend?" _

The stranger half smiled. "_Yes. And I would do it again. She made her mark on her world with her little string that everyone follows." _

Wait…a string? That everyone uses/seeks? It seemed familiar…why did Luke come to mind when I thought of a string? What would Luke want with a string…wait…that was in the Labyrinth…_Ariadne's _string.

I looked at him with wide eyes. "_Your love was Ariadne?" _

The stranger nodded dryly. "_She did a horrible thing at the end of her life that earned her here. I am not prepared to share that deed with you, but my heroics put me in the Isles of the Blest. But she didn't deserve this punishment for one mistake." _

It sounded painfully of Calypso.

"_So I took the hit. And I'm down here. Every now and then I dream about my legendary killing of the Minotaur." _He looked at me as if expecting me to do something. I was actually still bummed out that he wouldn't tell me what Ariadne did…but wait…legendary killing? The one person who…

I stared at him. I knew that I should know him from somewhere…where could it be from? Where?

He just laughed at my reaction. Who is this guy? How is he down here? I vaguely recognize him from Chiron's lessons way back in middle school about Greek figures.

"_I know you, but do you know me? Now, are you done with the introductions, Mr. Percy Jackson? Because people claim that you're the greatest hero of Greek and Roman history. So prove it." _

"_How?"_ I still felt uncomfortable with the whole 'greatest hero of all time' nonsense. I was just a regular 18 year old…who…had special…water powers. And I STILL didn't know who this guy is.

Theseus looked at me. "_I think you know the answer, son of Poseidon. Get out of this chamber. And defeat your enemy. You don't belong here; I can sense it. You have a long road of adventures ahead of you. Climb the shaft. Beat your mental demons, then beat your physical ones." _

_I stared at him. How did he know that I had my own physical demon to beat? Someone smart and heroic in ancient Greece…my eyes widened in awe._

"_You're Theseus. The founder and king of Athens, original slayer of the Minotaur, friend to Achilles and Heracles, faced and overcame the Six Entrances To The Underworld." _

Theseus smiled and his eyes twinkled. The old Greek ancient hero fire came into his eyes.

"_Now, are you going to accept some help to get out of this chamber or do I have to whip you into shape?" _


	24. Chapter 24

Percy

I wished I hadn't said yes to Theseus. He _whipped _my butt into shape. Pushups, sit-ups, jumping jacks, aerobics(really?), flexibility, squats, every exercise imaginable. Before I did all of that, I asked, "_What is all this for?"_ He rose an eyebrow at me. "_Because you need all the strength you can get physically. Because when the mental torture comes, you need maximum strength."_

By the end of that day, my body felt like rubber. The really unfair part was that even though Theseus did them with me, he was still up and ready 4 hours later and I was passed out on the ground. I was starting to get dizzy from the heat. Would Hades really sentence someone here? For what? Wait…Mr. D at Camp Half-Blood hated me for that very reason…he compared me to Theseus how he broke some girl's heart and Dionysus got her.

"_Hey, Theseus, some years ago I was talking to the god Dionysus and-"_

Theseus' face glowered and darkened like an eclipse. I say an eclipse because his face was all friendly, warrior-like, and interesting but once I brought up Mr. D, his face sunk into a scowl that would've put Zoe Nightshade to shame.

He looked past me as if he was having one of those flashbacks that Piper always experienced. _"That fool who courted Ariadne. What do you bring him up for_?"

"_Umm…he said that you had Ariadne fall in love with you or whatever and you broke her heart when you were done with her." _

Theseus faltered. "_Yes. Then even after Dionysus had his eye on her, I came back to her and apologized. I do not like talking about this, since that is the main reason and nightmare that keeps occurring when I'm trying to climb. Now come on. Exercise routine #343. Let's go." _

And I couldn't afford to ask any more questions. He worked me so hard that I didn't have the time to stop and interrogate him about it. Should I tell him that Ariadne's waiting up in Olympus as opposed to Isles of the Blest for Dionysus? I figured that wouldn't blow over too well, so I kept it to myself. The other inmates started to stir awake, but they didn't try to attack or anything, probably because they learned respect.

My eyes felt heavy, but a curt slap to the face woke me up. I gritted my teeth and pulled out Riptide on instinct. Theseus winced when he saw the sword. I had forgotten that he was actually a friend of Heracles/Hercules and he used this sword.

But that face quickly blew over as Theseus put on a look of gloating, and arrogance. He was baiting me to battle him.

"_Come on, then. You need to learn how to control your anger if you expect to climb that wall and defeat your enemy." _It was scary how that was true. I attacked him…but I hesitated at the last second looking in the face of the person who had saved me from a beating out of the goodness of his own heart, despite what he did during his life.

Let me tell you; big mistake. He disarmed me with one powerful stroke, and kicked me in the chest so hard that I flew back and crashed into the wall. He walked leisurely towards me. "_You can't have any inhibitions. You will stay in here forever if you don't learn how to have a killer instinct." _

I got up and attacked him. Sloppily. He bent down and flipped me over his right shoulder so I landed hard on my back. I tried for a low sweep in desperation, but he caught my ankle and picked me up. He held me over his head. I was flailing in the air, but he threw me down so I landed face down on the hot ground.

I was beaten. Theseus bent down to see if I was okay. First rule of Greek fighting, and any fighting in general; never let distractions get the best of you. I took advantage and disarmed him. He widened his eyes in surprise as I punched him in the face. I figured this was just a painful training exercise and nothing personal, and it reminded me of the exercise sessions my mom went to. How she always came home looking like she went through a Titan war. If her sessions were as hard as these, her trainer would have to watch out from a very angry son of Poseidon, and probably Poseidon himself.

Theseus staggered and I kicked him in the chest. He wiped his mouth as I pushed Riptide under his chin. "_Checkmate." _

Theseus nodded in approval. I helped him up, but he pushed me down when he was fully upright for good measure. After I got up, Theseus was staring at the 200 foot chute that I would have to climb. I stood next to him. "_Can't we try now? What's the wait?"_

"_Alas, hero, it's not that easy. The nightmares will take over your mind and you will fall…and fail. If you want to try, you can. Only one person made it out of here."_

I looked at him. "_Who was that? How did he get out?" _

Theseus looked wistfully up towards escape.

One of the inmates, the lady who had somehow thought I was a water bottle answered, "_A time ago, a young boy was involved in a war with his siblings against their parents, and the boy, in a spoil of war, got blasted way into the Underworld. Fell right into this prison, and was the only one. And he didn't see a way of escape. But when he heard his brothers' anguished screams, he took one foot after another and climbed. Visions flashed through his mind as he climbed, visions of perhaps failing this mission, visions of falling, visions of seeing his family get hurt in the war. But he kept climbing as he heard the screams. And once he got out of the prison, he fought demons and monsters up to the world to help with the war, only to be cast down here again. To rule." _

My heart caught in my throat. I thought of his angry demeanor and how he treated his children horribly. "_Hades was the only one to climb this? As a child? In the war against the Titans? Only to get cast down here to rule death?" _

Theseus nodded grimly. "_Some say that it was unfair. Others say that his attitude was grim, so he should've received a grim domain to preside over. And others wonder why he's so bitter. Climbed all that way to help Zeus, and Zeus cast him right back down here. No one has ever found a way out since." _

Well that was encouraging. I looked up. Compared to this dark hellhole prison, the light at the top was blinding. I pushed past Theseus. I was desperate to get out. I placed one foot on the first brick. I placed another foot on it. And I started climbing. I was going to make it. I had worked all 20 hours doing exercise for this moment.

I climbed. One step, two steps, three steps, four steps, five steps. So far, no sign of insanity. I think that my only challenge would be actually climbing this. What is the problem with this?

Unfortunately, as soon as I had said that, visions hit me like a hammer.

_I was 7 years old, playing with my toys when a young Sally Jackson came in. Her eyes were red from crying. I looked at her. I had a question. _

"_Mommy, where is Daddy? Why did he leave us?" _

_She covered her face and sobbed. Through her crying, she stuttered out, "Your-your daddy-had a-a-business trip to go to. He'll be back. And he'll scoop you up in his arms and play with you. Don't worry about it." _

I knew that it would never happen. I felt my grip slip and I fell like 10 bricks to the ground. I cried out and slammed into the ground. I opened my eyes to see Theseus looking at me with a look of sympathy and the other prisoners looking bored as if they had played this game before. One of them yawned. "_You will never get it, half-blood. All of us have tried, and none have gotten it." _

Defeated, I slumped against the wall, not listening to their derogatory comments and Theseus' quotes.

_Somewhere else, another place, same time. _

Nico

I stood in the forest of Camp. After visiting Percy, I felt bad when he exposed my cowardice. I had gone through all this. The Great Prophecy, the Lotus Hotel and Casino, the second God-Titan War, the Prophecy of the Seven, finding Hazel, losing Bianca, Defeating Gaea after being captured by her. It didn't make any sense why I wouldn't help my lost friend. I could feel it in my gut that Percy wasn't supposed to die. So why wouldn't I help? I saw Annabeth and Grover freaking out and worrying about Percy. Why didn't I have friends like that? No matter. I'm going to help Percy Jackson. Because it's the least I can do to repay him for all the things he did to me.

16 years old. I should be much more mature. Percy, you better watch out. I turned around and a huge dark mass knocked me to the ground, then barked. Wait…_barked? _I got licked several times. I pushed the mass off me to see that it was a hellhound…I seemed to attract a lot of these lately. Wait…not just any hellhound…_Percy's _hellhound. It barked and trees fell down, and the sheer force knocked me to the ground. Yep, definitely Mrs. O'Leary. It barked at me again, and I knew that it knew that Percy was in trouble. I had a look of determination on the face.

"Come on, girl. We're going to help a certain Son of Poseidon." At the mention of Poseidon, it barked happily, a sound that echoed through the forest. Then again, every mention of any word makes it bark happily."

I hopped on its back and it turned its head 360 degrees and licked me. And together, we bounded into the shadows.


	25. Chapter 25

Percy

I tried again. And again. A total of five times more, and every time I fell down because the nightmares were so real and so discouraging. I actually kept progressing up the climb, but I kept falling down because a real and new nightmare kept coming up.

After I got past the me-as-a-child nightmare, it was the Minotaur taking my mom and me thinking that she was dead. Literally, all the feelings and emotions came rushing back as if it was just happening right then and there.

Then, the second one was when Polyphemus picks up Annabeth when she was invisible and pretending to be Nobody and the Cyclops throws her into a mountain, leaving me to think she was dead. I had stumbled and fell back to the ground, landing hard once again.

The third time was when Annabeth was fighting Dr. Thorn and both of them tumbled off the cliff without a trace. I fell again due to the distraction.

The fourth time, it was landing on Calypso's island and the guilt that I felt for wanting to stay, and the heart that I had broken when I decided to leave; Calypso's. I screamed and fought, but I fell again.

The last time was learning of the prophecy and when Annabeth got in my face and called me a coward. I was 100 feet up, halfway up the prison when the brick I was holding onto slipped and I fell, disappointing the expectant crowd that had gathered.

Now, since all the hype was downplayed, most of the inmates were playing cards (don't ask me how the cards were there), and Theseus was sitting in his corner staring me down. He had called me a coward and a fake Greek hero because of my unwillingness to try again. I just didn't want to try again. Why? Because a new nightmare would appear and I would fail again.

I was done. Defeated. I've beaten everybody I could beat, demigods, gods, monsters, humans, everyone, but I get beaten by myself. I was slumping down in the corner when Theseus approached me. "_Who is Annabeth?"_

I looked at him. I tried to not let the resent I felt for him show on my face for him misleading me in the way to get out of here, but apparently it was evident because Theseus smirked. Why was he bringing up Annabeth? What does she have to do with this? I had failed her, so she was done. The hero spoke again as he had read my mind.

"_You talk in your sleep, young demigod. Is she your female romantic?" _

I rolled my eyes. Greeks and their language. I remembered going to sleep only once; after my third time falling down. I tried to rest up my body to get physically strong, but apparently that was the wrong approach. Not like dead souls actually need sleep, it was just out of habit in the world above full of life. "_She was my girlfriend. In life. But I'm by myself now." _

I hadn't meant for it to sound disrespectful and challenging, but Theseus laughed instead of getting mad or something. He looked wistfully out towards the exit. "_Then do it for your lady. Why wouldn't you? She would do the same for you." _

The people playing cards jeered and laughed. The monster lady with wings cackled, "_The pathetic 'hero' doesn't know how to get out. He'll fail like all of us and stay down here to rot." _

I slumped my shoulders. So far, it seemed like they were right. I've tried 6 times and fell 6 times.

Then, I heard a scream. Not just any scream. Annabeth's scream.

Perseus.

He was still up there in Asphodel plotting. And Nico, Annabeth, and Grover…were _visiting the Underworld. _I hopped up and pushed Theseus out the way. I was aware of everyone staring at me. Theseus raised an eyebrow. "_People scream all the time, hero, from Tartarus and the painful parts of the Underworld. What makes this different?" _

I turned to him. "_This is different because that's ANNABETH!" _I ran to the exit and looked up. Perseus looked down at me. I saw that he had Annabeth in a chokehold. He grinned at me. "Hey, twin. Having fun down there? Your little girlfriend actually found a way to the Underworld, killed all these monsters in her path, and came down here to try and actually _save _you! Can you believe that?"

I actually could, because I would definitely try to do that if our places were switched. Then again, I wouldn't get my ass handed to me by an evil Annabeth. Actually, scratch that. Don't quote me on that.

I gritted my teeth in anger. I balled my fists and was about to say something smart and witty, but Perseus raised his eyebrow and laughed slightly. "You're going to get out the prison some way that I don't know of?" He pressed the sword under her chin and brought her out my view. I could still hear his laugh. Then, I heard another bloodcurling scream.

Looking back, Theseus said that when he saw my eyes, they were literally filled with miniature greenish-blue waves. The power of the sea. All I know was that I was angry. At Perseus. At myself. That's my girlfriend. Annabeth Chase. I was going to save her.

I put my foot on a brick, and climbed. Visions flashed through my mind as before, but I was determined to get there. Her screams were echoing through the prison. I could hear the prisoners gathering at the bottom to watch me. I climbed and climbed. Visions of Smelly Gabe hitting my mom and her flying across the room flashed across my mind. I almost slipped, but Annabeth's screams jolted me back to reality. I kept climbing. I was 80 feet up. Left arm, right foot, right arm, left foot.

Images of the way that Annabeth looked at Luke and when he tried to poison me with the scorpion flashed through my mind. I could feel the scorpion on the hand as I shuddered. But I bore down. 100 feet left to climb. I kept climbing, with cheers from Theseus and the others doing some chant that I had never heard. The visions that flashed were even worse because they were nightmares. The first one was me losing my memory and forgetting Annabeth. I remembered being lost, confused, and upset when the wolves and the harpies came. I was afraid. I ran for my life. Then that crumbled.

It then showed me and Rachel and me and Annabeth kissing in the same week. Then it shattered and showed me on the cruise ship and Beckendorf raising his hand to his watch. I watched him blow up as I jumped in the sea like a coward. And Silena's face when she realized what had happened.

I lost focus and dropped 10 feet, 20 feet…until I grabbed back on the bricks. I was going to do this. I had like 70 feet to go. The bricks started to get hotter and hotter, but I kept climbing up and up. Annabeth's screams turned into sobs and crying. I felt the ocean surge through me and I doubled my speed of climbing. As a result, the visions sped up.

I saw Annabeth accepting to go to the Hunters and me begging her not to, and her being forbidden to see or interact with me on a friendly level. I saw Paul Blowfish(sorry, Blofis) leaving my mom, leaving her in tears and sobbing in her hands. I then saw Frank and Hazel dying; Frank's firewood burning out, and Hazel being killed by her father. I saw the Greek warship descending on the Roman Camp and we attack one another, killing people in the progress.

I screamed out loud, but kept climbing. Tears formed in my eyes. My arms started to hurt, but I didn't mind. I had like 50 feet to go. I saw Perseus attacking Thalia and beating her into submission. I then saw way back when Thalia and I had argued over a capture-the-flag game and she struck me with a blast of lightning and I willed the whole river to rise. I was ready to beat her down. That wasn't like me. What was that?

Then, the vision shimmered into me walking in on Annabeth kissing Luke in our apartment. I yelled and almost fell, but was jarred back to reality when Theseus yelled up at me to stay focused. I was almost there. I was 10 feet left to go. Left, Right, left, right. The bricks were burning now. I was so tempted to just let go and suck my thumb.

Then, the worst of all came; it showed me presented with the choice of the prophecy. Luke asks me at Olympus, "Just give me the knife." I look at him and all my resentment and hate towards him and his relationship with Annabeth came back and I try to stab him myself. Kronos takes over the body at the last second, catching the knife and throwing at Annabeth at a speed unrivaled by even Hermes. It impales her, and Kronos knocks me across the other side of the room. He laughs and looks at me with the golden eyes. The whole body starts to glow golden and Luke's body explodes and disintegrates. I look away but I realize the harsh light of a Titan. He laughs again coldly and destroys all the gods' thrones. And goes down to Earth to take over North America. I run over to Annabeth to see if she's okay, but she uses all her effort to turn her head away from me, close her eyes, and die silently with a tear falling down her cheek.

That was it. The bricks had turned scalding hot. The brick I was holding onto crumbled and I fell. I heard Annabeth's screams and sobs and matched them myself. Then….

"Woah there, watch yourself."

An arm snatches out from nowhere and grabs my hand. The arm was so strong that it was able to support me and keep me from falling 200 feet down a chute. It pulled me up and I scrambled up and out of the prison eagerly. There was standing Nico Di Angelo with Mrs. O'Leary behind him. She barked so loud that it knocked me to the ground. I don't know how it's possible, but I could've sworn she grew.

I could hear the inmates below cheering and chanting. Theseus just looked up at me wistfully. I was so overjoyed to get out that I almost ran around the depressing Asphodel cheering and leaping around, but I realized something. Theseus wasn't supposed to be down there. He had taken the hit for somebody who left him for Mr. D. I called down to him, "I'll come back for you. Don't worry. No, not all of you cannibals. Just Theseus."

Theseus just made a three-fingered claw over his heart and pushed outward; a gesture for warding off evil. I mirrored the signal and hopped on Mrs. O'Leary's back.

I was breathing heavily and Nico raised an eyebrow at me. "You know you're going to have to be at full strength?"

"How am I supposed to do that when I'm dead?"

"The only way is if you bathe in the 5 rivers of Hades. I know I had only said the River Lethe, the one that Iapetus…er, Bob I mean, fell into. But you need all five. You've already bathed in one, the Styx, so you need four more."

"Four? What are the other ones?"

Nico sighed and looked ahead. I was looking at him expectantly, because I was pretty much ready to do anything to beat Perseus. It seemed like he had done this before. "Well, Death Boy?"

He looked into my eyes. "There's five rivers of Hades. The River Styx, you're already familiar with. That's technically the river of hate and broken dreams. That one made you invulnerable from the hate of others. You don't have to bathe in that again, but you need to bathe in the other 4. This is because when two people of the same soul, you and Perseus for example, bathe in one of the five rivers of Hades, one of you gets the good deal, the other, not so much. If you two bathed in the Styx, and say that you won. You would come out invulnerable, but the other would dissolve into nothingness from the hate of others."

"Wonderful. What's next?"

"You're already familiar with the River Lethe. It's the river of forgetfulness and unminfulness. This time, if you win the mental battle, Perseus would come out not knowing or remembering anything, and you would come out just your normal self. So either permanent amnesia, or nothing. That one's going to be last, because if you beat him in all of these rivers, you want him to not remember anything so he won't be any threat anymore."

I nodded my head. "Okay, so have to bathe in the river of memory loss. Great. What's the other one?"

Nico hesitated. I looked at him. This, apparently, was pretty bad. Our whole bodies almost fell off the dog when he knocked down a tree. He continued.

"As we get close to the rivers, one of the features of them is that you can actually attain and retain injuries, so you need to be careful and injure Perseus. The next one is the River Akheron. This is the river of pain and suffering."

"Just my speed."

"Whatever you felt in the Styx, is nothing compared to this river. Along with it being the river of pain and suffering, it is also the river of healing. If you have injuries in the battle between you and Perseus, it will heal one of you and it will give the other one extreme pain and suffering."

"Um, so why do I need to bathe in these again?"

"Because it's the only way to rid yourself of your evil self, which is actually physical in this case; your clone Perseus. Ancient Greek way."

I rolled my eyes. "What's next?"

We rode past some depressed-looking souls standing under a tree. I waved at them, but they just looked at me with big solemn eyes. Nico raised his eyebrows. "I'm surprised that you're not running off in terror and giving up on defeating Perseus."

"Just get on with it before I change my mind."

"The River Kokytos. It's the river of regret. Lamentation. When you bathe in it, it feels just like a normal pool, except it shows you visions in the background of the things that you've done in your life that you're not proud of. And you're also vulnerable so you can keep fighting as long as you stay completely focused on winning the fight."

Wait. Now I was confused. "Wouldn't we have the same visions pretty much, since we have the same memory?"

Nico shook his head. "Not necessarily. It depends on the things that you two view as things you would regret."

"You talk about this with an awful amount of precision and experience."

"The River Phelegethon."

"The River Fire?" I translated.

"Yes. It's a burning river, and if you win out the battle, the victor has superior strength just as a metal is tested under fire and it gets stronger in the process. It's symbolic….only it's not."

"Right." I sighed. "What about the loser?"

"The fire will burn his skin and consume him mentally. It will hinder his fighting ability."

"Marvelous." My sarcasm was interrupted by a muffled scream. Mrs. O'Leary stopped abruptly. Right ahead of us was Perseus with Annabeth in his arm. Annabeth had a gag in her mouth like Luke put her in a couple years ago. Perseus grinned. "Shall we journey to the rivers, clone?"

I tensed up. How did he know? Annabeth was shaking her head vigorously, warning me not to do it. Her blond hair whipped back and forth.

Perseus smiled slowly, like a serpent. "I hear things. But you think that you're mentally stronger than me? I will not hesitate to beat you down to the brink of death when you're already dead."

"And maybe that's your greatest weakness."

Perseus sneered. He draped my girlfriend over his shoulder. Annabeth pounded his back with her fists and her knees, but the clone didn't seem fazed.

"Meet me at the Cave of Hypnos. I've arranged a little…audience. So this will be fun. All our little friends will be watching. The gods will be watching. You can either come and die in humiliation or avoid the pain and just leave Annabeth to die with me."

I balled my fists so tight I was surprised they weren't bleeding. "That's not a question."

Perseus raised his eyebrow as a matter-of-factly. "I always did have respect for your…our work ethic. Come and challenge me. I never give up."

"Neither do I."

"Wonderful. See you there?"

"It's a date."

Perseus smiled. He snapped his fingers at me and the world made a 360 as I fell to the ground. Nico was next to me on the ground. I recognized that trick. The same one Ares had used on me the second time I encountered him. That's not a good sign.

I helped Nico up. "So when are we leaving?"

Nico brushed the deathly dirt off him. "As soon as possible."


	26. Chapter 26

Percy

We stopped under some depressing tree and just waited until Nico caught his breath.

"Just…need….some….time…" And he passed out. Apparently, shadow travel, riding a hellhound, and saving your friend from utter imprisonment forever was tiring to him. Go figure.

So Mrs. O'Leary and I just waited there. We would probably be lost if it weren't for Nico, so we definitely needed him to guide us. I stood with Riptide and looked in the distance. There was a big looming cave high up and about 3 miles from here. Around the cave were 5 rivers that intertwined around each other and flowed into each other. I could recognize them immediately.

The black swirling one full of objects in it was the Styx, of course. The clear one after that was probably the Lethe.

Then, there was a river that looked silver and deathly, as if it was full of knives. That was probably the Akheron.

The river flowing diagonal from that was Kokytos, which was a deep purple. The river that I saw had images and clips of people's lives where they had done something that they regretted. The images and clips were sort of projected onto the water, except there was no projector.

Then, it was the most obvious; it literally was on fire; a blazing fire burned onto the surface of the river and inside the river seemed like columns of endless flames. River Phelegrthon.

Annabeth was there somewehere. What if Perseus was making her bathe in one of them? That would be disastrous! Motivated, I kicked Nico who woke up swinging his sword with surprising strength. I parried and disarmed him, but he still caught me off guard. I stumbled and fell backwards to the depressing, deathly ground.

He shook his head. "I shouldn't have passed out. Especially not that long. But I know what it is. It's…the effect of Hypnos himself."

I was so tired of gods who think they can pick on little demigods. Thinking of the word _tired _actually made me take a huge yawn. "Who's he? The god of something worthless?"

Nico looked up at me with panic in his eyes. "No. Not a god. The _personification _of sleep. Much more deadly and dangerous."

"Wait, I thought Morpheus was the god-the personification of sleep or whatever?"

Nico shook his head again. "He's the god of dreams. Not even the god of sleep. He is actually one of the sons of Hypnos."

The deathly air that was normally lukewarm turned colder. "Are you saying that the dude who put Grover to sleep for 3 months works for this guy?"

Nico nodded gravely. "Let's keep going. Or else we might stumble into the Labyrinth and you would have déjà vu all over again."

"Stumble into _what?"_

"Never seen the movie Wrath of the Titans?"

"Um, don't think so."

"Starring Sam Worthington?"

"Definitely not."

Nico sighed and shrugged. "Well, never mind then. We need to stay moving as much as possible to get to Hypnos' cave as quickly as possible. I think you'll love the cave. It's the closest connection to the outside world; it has rivers and actual grass in it."

I had to admit, I would probably love it. I patted Mrs. O'Leary and we rode on and on. We rode in complete silence. It was understandable. It was a solemn mission; no time for messing around or meaningless conversations.

I started to notice little things like ghosts appearing and disappearing in thin air. One of them was an old man right in front of me with an eyepatch who whispered, "_Graecus!" _and disappeared.

"Yeah, never heard that one before." I grumbled. A Roman ghost. I almost forgot that the Underworld holds all types of souls.

What if Beckendorf and Silena were here? What about Zoe? They would be in Elysium, of course, but I wondered where if I was able to visit them.

The cave was above everything else, so even if we got to the cave, we would have to climb some deathly mountains to reach it. I didn't have much time to think about that, because about a mile from the cave, a huge black shadow passed over us. Have you ever had a cloud of mist just settle on your body? That's how it felt, and my eyes started to close. I was so sleepy. My eyes felt heavy. It was almost as bad as going to one of Annabeth's architectural conventions or orientations. Almost.

I looked over at Nico with all my effort and saw that he was knocked out. The ghosts that appeared in the air didn't even have the energy to disappear. They just passed out and fell to the ground, sleeping.

Mrs. O'Leary stopped and starting barking at the shadow in general. She seemed to be the only one not to be affected by this. Suddenly, a huge gust of wind came from behind me and blew my hood up. I suddenly felt awake and alert. Okay, that was a lie, but I felt more awake and not like I was going to pass out. I looked ahead and got out Riptide. A black hooded figure came materialized out of the black cloud. The being reminded me of Thanatos when we had first met him, except this person seemed much more…unfriendly. As if Death itself was friendly.

The being landed on the ground and I made a conscious decision that it was a man. No woman has shoulders as broad as his. He spoke in a slow, ominous, raspy voice. Really, does every godly figure need pills to clear up their throats?

"Still awake? You should not have come back." Come back? The hooded figure tilted its head at Mrs. O'Leary, who was barking her head off. The figure flicked its pinky finger and my menacing hellhound fell to the ground, sleeping like a poodle. I knew who this guy was. I also knew that my ADHD was helping to keep me awake, and probably alive also.

"I know who you are. You're-"

"Please don't invoke my name out loud. Honestly, it's just a pain. Yes, I know my own name."

I felt kind of hurt. That had become a sort of ritual for fighting bad guys. They arrive in a dramatic fashion, I recognize them after a while, tell them who they are, they laugh and tell their plan, and I beat them.

Hypnos tilted his head again, as if he knew what I was thinking. He landed on the deathly ground. He took a step towards me, and my knees buckled from tiredness. I collapsed to the ground, fighting to stay awake. Riptide scattered across the face. I knew if I fell asleep, I would be in for a bad time. "Why-….are you….doing…"

"I must admit, playing dumb seems to be one of your strengths. Just because you have the pathetic hood on, doesn't mean I didn't see your face." Hypnos reached into his cloak and pulled out a huge black sword that seemed to make me fall asleep just looking at it. He flicked his hand at me, and my hood fell off.

"Look at me." I gritted my teeth, and tried to look somewhere else. If I closed my eyes, I would fall asleep. If I looked at him, I would fall asleep. I fell to the ground, eyes closing involuntarily. He grunted. "You think that just because your friend encountered my son and lived, means that you could stand up to me?"

He raised his sword and came down on me…..

Only to get stopped by a black-ground glove who just stopped the sword's path like it was nothing. It should've cut right through the palm, but it was untouched. I was saved by someone or…something. I closed my eyes as I heard Hypnos crying in outrage. "This isn't your fight, cousin! You think that you could beat me in a fight? This demigod upstart came right into the Cave holding some blond girl. He beat me using the rivers in the cave, knocked me out, and continued into the cave. Now he comes back-"

A ghost of a voice answered, dripping with slight amusement. "Hypnos, honestly, that doesn't make any sense. Why would he defeat you, then come back? That is not sensible. This is the demigod upstart's….twin brother. He's come to stop his brother."

"LIES! I will kill him and then we will see about you!"

The other voice, the reasonable voice sighed. "We're all already dead."

"Under what authority are you telling this from?"

Another voice, deep and commanding, rang through the area. "Of me. Wake up, Jackson."

I heard a snap of fingers and my eyes shot open. I saw Hypnos, then I turned around and saw my good old friend Thanatos, and flying above him with robes that had the dying faces of people intertwined in it, was my good old enemy Hades.

He raised an eyebrow at me, then at Nico lying on the ground, still snoring.

"Let's not make this a habit, shall we?"


	27. Chapter 27

Percy

I just looked at him. I hadn't expected Hades to actually come out of his comfort zone and help me. I narrowed my eyes at him. His pale skin, angry eyes full of black fire, his long hair, and growing beard hadn't changed. But all I could think about was that he was the only kid to escape the prison that I had almost escaped by myself. I couldn't stop staring at him. He's just a misunderstood soul who had gotten done wrong. "That was you who got out of the trap. That was you. But you got mistreated and cheated."

Hades narrowed his eyes and the black fire blazed in his irises. I thought he was going to blast me to bits, which would be kind of hard if I'm dead, but probably not impossible. "Wonderful that you brought that up. I hear that you made it out with a little help."

He bore into my eyes and I shook out of my trance. I gritted my teeth that he was implying that I wasn't as good as him. "What are you doing here?"

He rolled his eyes and sighed. "Saving your life, I'm guessing. I wouldn't think that you heroes would appreciate an act like that. Anyway, what are you planning to do with my son that you're leading into certain danger?"

I looked at Nico who was in the fetal position. I fought the urge to laugh at him and looked Hades in the eye. I didn't see why I needed to tell him anything; I wasn't scared of him, or any god or anybody. I had beaten him once before after I bathed in the Styx, and I could do it again. In the back of my mind, I knew that he was making me feel this way just because he was here, like Ares and Mars did.

As if he knew my little dilemma, he smiled. "This is _my _Underworld, youngling. Let me give you a free piece of advice since I can't directly interfere. After I got released from that infernal underwater prison long after you came down here, I knew what he was planning to do."

"Yeah, we're both going to bathe in the rivers of the Underworld. Whoever comes out wins."

He tapped his chin thoughtfully and raised an eyebrow at me. "Do you actually think that he's going to take the risk of taking part of the most painful part of the Underworld? Bathing in the five rivers? You think that he's that brave? No, demigod. He's everything bad about you. He's a coward. He's going to try to bait you. And when you come, you will be overcome and taken by…a huge army that should be visible to you about….now."

He looked ahead, and so did I. And a lump of fear rose in my throat. Perseus was standing at the mouth of the cave, leaning on the side. I couldn't see his face, because he was too far from me. But beneath him, marching towards us was a whole undead army of warriors and soldiers over the history. Don't get me wrong, these are not skeletons. These are _undead _zombies. Some of them had ripped and torn Greek attire, some had ripped Confederate uniforms, others had army uniforms that didn't strike me as familiar. Then again, that isn't hard to do. They had guns, swords, bows and arrows, clubs, bats, and several weapons. I figured that even in the Underworld, that wouldn't make them hurt less. I was outnumbered. Nico couldn't use his little death powers but for so long since he was still alive. Hades can't intervene.

I looked at Hades. "And you aren't going to help us?"

Hades sighed as if he was bored. Thanatos grabbed Hypnos' arm, and they both teleported into nothingness, so I had no backup. Hades snapped his fingers. The air around me turned darker. I got Riptide up to get ready for any nasty surprises.

He looked at me with evident resentment in his eyes. I figured he would just as soon go to one of Annabeth's architectural orientations before helping me. He looked as if he was coming to a decision. Then, he finally looked like he came to one. The fire in his eyes turned bright orange as he was analyzing me.

"You're the Avenger, Jackson. You don't think you can take all of these fools out? With all your power?"

Who? Like the Avengers with Iron Man, and the Hulk, and Captain America?

"The Avenger? Who is that? What do you mean?"

He raised an eyebrow. He was apparently surprised that I didn't know who that was. Well, I don't really know a lot of things, that's why I have Annabeth (sorry babe!).

"Zeus didn't tell you? Poseidon, neither? Well, as much as I would love to give this history lesson, I'm afraid my audience with a demigod has timed out. I will see you around, Jackson. And put that hood up. You look….how do you say it…cooler like that."

I reached my hand out futilely. "WAIT! Don't lea-" Hades disappeared in a shadow, and Nico woke up, shaking his head like a dog.

"Wonderful timing, Death Boy. We have a zombie army coming at 12:00." Nico looked straight ahead, and if possible, turned even paler looking at them. I can't believe Hades would just come out of nowhere, tell me some useless stuff, then just leave. I looked and the army was approaching faster than I had expected.

I raised my head to the gray sky, and yelled, "WHAT ARE YOU, SOME COWARD? NOT GOING TO HELP US LIKE THE OTHER GODS WOULD? MAYBE THAT'S WHY YOU'RE TRAPPED DOWN HERE, BECAUSE YOU DON'T LIKE ANYBODY!"

Nico tensed up, as if expecting lightning to strike us. I didn't care. I wanted him to hear it. That coward. Then, the shadow around us grew darker, and dark clouds started to form around me. Red lightning struck in the distance. I held Riptide out, ready to fight. Nico and I stood back to back. I put my hood up. Hey, you never know.

Okay, I just wanted to look cool if we were going to be attacked. There, happy?

Nico was freaking out. "Ahhhh….we're going to die! That's your fault, Percy! I knew that mouth would get us into trouble!"

The clouds divided and combined, and formed into humanlike shapes. They changed into different shapes of different sizes. Suddenly, the black cloud human people turned into human skin, and there, standing before me, was the six greatest heroes of Greek history. Nico paled and said in a small voice, "_Oh." _

A guy in his 20's formed. He was tall, muscular, tanned, and had an angry, regal face. He had Greek armor on, and only one of his body parts was heavily padded…his ankle. He had a spear in his hand, and a sword on his side. He had a Greek helm. I remembered way back years ago when he warned me not to bathe in the Styx like Luke did. He looked at me and nodded in respect. The most famous warrior of the Trojan War. Invulnerability. Achilles.

A man in his 30's formed. He was muscular also, a big-boned man. The thing that stood out was his awesome beard. It was like 2 feet long, and 1 foot wide. He had a warrior's glint in his eye, like he was expecting ninjas to attack at any time. He just cracked his knuckles and smiled. He winked at me as if we shared a personal joke. Which, we probably did. Calypso. The guy who stayed on the island for 7 years. Leader of the Odyssey. Bravery. Odysseus.

A dude who looked like 18 formed. He had a devilish face that reminded me of the Stolls, but it was playful. He smiled at me, it was one of those charismatic smiles that Luke and I, of course, share. He had two swords and seemed perfectly at ease. The leader of Argonauts. Charisma. Jason.

Then, a familiar guy formed, with a tall, lean frame who looked like a natural warrior. He looked at me and grinned slightly. He had gotten out of the trap. Somehow, someway, but I was determined not to dwell on that. He deserved freedom for keeping his values and morals in the prison. The Slayer of the Minotaur. Prowess. Theseus.

Then, a guy who looked like 25, and had brownish-blond hair with blue shining eyes. He had a muscular, ripped body, as if he could lift the world itself. And probably eat a sandwich with the other hand. He looked like a bodybuilder. He stared at me, and his electric blue eyes bore into me. It reminded me of Jason and Thalia. And I knew who I was looking at. The most popular child of Zeus in history. Strength. Heracles. Or as you guys know him, Hercules.

Then, a person with brownish-black hair with blue eyes formed holding a sword that seemed to be glowing with sunlight. He had a rough face, and looked about 28. He was ruggedly handsome, like Jason, and had slight stubble. He looked like Sam Worthington. My namesake. Slayer of the gorgon Medusa. Awesomeness. Perseus of legend.

He grinned at me cockily. "Nice name, lad."

I raised his eyebrow, and took off my hood. "You're….you're…" I couldn't even find the words.

Heracles grinned at me. "Hades said that next time you test him, get the whole story. Is this the army we need to destroy? Pathetic! I can crush them with my own hands!"

I stared at him. The person who broke Zoe's heart. Now helping me. How ironic. I worked alongside a couple whose lifetimes differenced at least 2000 years.

And speak of the devil. Or Hades. Whatever. Another cloud formed next to Heracles and the hero put his arm around the forming cloud. The cloud formed into a gorgeous girl with a silvery glow around her. She looked very dangerous, along with attractive. She had a bow and was in a running position, just as she was when she was released into the stars. She straightened up and smiled at me. Then, the girl changed into a beautiful woman that was about Heracles' age, but hadn't lost any of its beauty or curiosity. Zoe Nightshade.

I felt a lump in my throat. I couldn't deal with this…souls that I mourn. Was this some other trick?

Zoe sneered at me playfully. "This is no trick, Jackson. We've all come to assist you. And if you're wondering about me and this fool here, we worked it out. He apologized and won me back."

Heracles smiled proudly and flexed his arm. His muscles had muscles. "Alas, this pretty lady shall be mine forever!" Zoe looked at him, and they kissed. Nico shook his head. "Gross!"

As if he dealt with the dead spirits of heroes all the time…wait…he probably did. I take that back.

Then, I saw two more clouds form. They melted into human shapes…one of them a big African-American dude with huge hands and muscles big enough to make most monsters cry for their mommy. They didn't compare at all to Heracles, but they were bigger than mine. The girl standing next to him was a light-skinned, tanned, pretty girl about the man's age. They were holding hands and seemed really happy, even while wearing armor. Two heroes who had died for our half-blood cause. The relationship that mirrored the pair between their godly parents. Hepheastus and Aphrodite. Charles Beckendorf and Silena Beauregard.

They came up and hugged me. Gods, how I missed them. I don't know…I had expected them to be ghosts? But they seemed just as real as years ago when they were alive. And they seemed happy. Silena damn there tackled me down, planting me with kisses on the cheek. Beckendorf ruffled Nico's hair.

Beckendorf raised an eyebrow. "Don't steal my eternal wife, now."

I grinned while being assaulted. "Everyone knows children of Aphrodite are much more…_oomph…_affectionate than others."

Beckendorf shook Zoe's hand. "I had heard legends about you, but it's an honor to finally meet you." Zoe smiled and shook his hand. I'm glad she's not a Hunter anymore or else she probably would've chopped off his hand. Beckendorf shook Heracles' hand, which he probably broke.

Thunder rumbled in the distance, which got everyone kind of quiet. Odysseus looked at me. "This lad is the Avenger of Legend. He shall lead us into battle, until he takes care of his own. Let us fight!"

The warriors' cheers could be heard up in Olympus. Again, I don't know what this whole Avenger business is about, but I liked it.

Annabeth would've probably passed out of excitement. Grover would've been out when he saw the clouds, but it still felt good to think about my friends and to think that I was going to see them soon.

I twirled Riptide encouragingly. Perseus grinned. "He wields it better than you would in a thousand years, brother."

Heracles grimaced. "And yet I would still…beat your donkey behind if we ever fought and I used that. Zoe rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Now, boys."

Heracles laughed. Perseus looked at the sword with grudging admiration. "Alas, boy, that sword is more powerful than you think. Keep that in mind. Us sons of Zeus-" and him and Heracles bumped swords,

"-are honored that you carry it. Use it to the fullest potential."

I nodded at them. If only Thalia and Jason could be here to see it. Their family. I looked at the army approaching. Never thought I would be saying this, but thank you, Hades. And thank you Father. The zombies still looked gruesome, but not as intimidating as they did when I didn't have a bunch of powerful heroes behind me.

I raised Riptide to the sky. My voice was much deeper and more commanding than a few years ago when I had done it in Manhattan. We yelled so loud that a few front line zombies turned around and marched back.

"FOR OLYMPUS!"


	28. Chapter 28

Percy

Let me tell you this: they fought as crazy and wild as violent and malevolent pigs (believe me, you don't want to know about the 'gift' that Pan gave Annabeth, Grover, and I years ago).

They were beasts. Hercules was busting through the army with just his fists and his feet. Just by punching, kicking, and running, he must've been taking out almost a quarter of the army by himself. It was crazy how strong he was; I could almost believe that he crushed the Giant Crab that I faced on the way to Atlas' place.

Zoe, by his side, was running, kicking and shooting the enemy. The silver aura of a Hunter surrounded her just as if she was alive. I couldn't help but be reminded of how brave she was to charge her own father in battle with an already fatal injury from Ladon, the huge dragon with a desperate need for a peppermint. Or two. Or a thousand.

Achilles just stood at the top of the hill that we were standing on, and just threw his magical spear. I say magic because every time that he threw the spear, it would hit his target, then keep flying and impale like 10 more targets, then fly back to his hand. And he would do it again. It caused mass danger and confusion. They would shoot guns, throw javelins, shoot bow and arrows, and it would all miss him.

Theseus and Odysseus fought like wrestlers. They tackled, punched, and defeated any brave zombie that dared to try to attack. They flipped the undead creeps over their shoulders, doing some MMA wrestling action that must've been painful.

Beckendorf had looked at me, winked, then got to work on asking Hercules to take out a tree. After he did with one finger, Beckendorf and Silena created a catapult, similar to Leo's strategy. Beckendorf turned to me. "Got it from him. Why do you look so surprised, that's my brother." And he slung several rocks and boulders, and occasionally put Odysseus on there to sling him to the enemy.

Perseus (the hero) got out his sword given to him by his father, and fought like a true son of Zeus. He dodged, sliced, and used lightning to his advantage. He looked at me and spoke in a gruff, raspy voice. "You going to fight, mate?"

I just looked at him. "I'm getting to it."

He raised an eyebrow, then looked as if he made a decision. "I know what you need, hero." He raised his hands, and storm clouds formed in the Underworld. I don't know how that was possible, and how he could do it but not I. But you don't see me complaining. Lightning flashed in the distance, and rain started pouring down.

It felt like heaven. Elysium. The Isles of the Blest. I felt….amazing. The rain poured on my skin, and I could feel myself getting stronger and my power increasing. Our little team put out their hands, and the army of zombies even stopped and looked up in surprise. The rain soaked into my skin, and I could see my tanned skin increasing in muscle, and my veins looking healthy again. I took a deep breath, and looked up at the cave. I saw my clone leaning against the cave, looking bored. And yet, he didn't go out into the rain to get stronger. Why was that?

I didn't think about it. I held my hand out and never felt so happy to feel the familiar tugging sensation in my gut. I formed a wave with the rainwater around it, and rode on the wave down the hill with Riptide out. As the wave swept the undead warriors up, I chopped them up with Riptide. They weren't skeletons; if you cut them up, they don't reform.

As it kept raining, I started to move quicker, faster, and my attacks started to be stronger. Riptide turned into a deadly golden arc of pure destruction. I kicked, slashed, rolled, struck, jumped, leapt, stabbed, injured, and pretty much beat them up. I turned the rain falling down into a huge fist that knocked a huge chunk of the army out. I couldn't even see what I was doing; the rain was blocking my vision….I was doing all this on pure instinct. I could hear Perseus(the hero) and Hercules yelling in triumph. I didn't even know what they were doing since I was so focused on what I was doing. I kept pouring it on, and I was creating multiple waves that washed away enemies and stunned them at least for a little while.

I sensed someone trying to stab me from the back. Without looking back, I grabbed the zombie's arm (which was disgusting, but it was just instinctive), and stabbed the other zombie with the arm. After the other one was stabbed, I kicked the one behind me and shot a funnel of water at him, knocking him out.

Right after that, something exploded right in front of me, knocking me 20 feet away and landing roughly. I got up, and realized that it was Beckendorf's catapult. I looked around for the first time, and all I saw was zombie body parts on the ground, spilling gray blood. Mind you, nothing in the Underworld had any type of color. It was faded gray, like in an old-school photograph. I was standing in the middle of the field, Riptide at my side, breathing heavily.

The whole army was done. Defeated. I turned and saw our whole team like 100 feet away on top of the hill, with beach chairs and pina coladas. I just stared at them. They all took sips of their drink then laughed. The hero Perseus winked at me as if we shared a private joke.

I looked at the battlefield. _I _did all that? As if they knew what I was silently asking, Nico spoke up, "Yep, that was all you. As soon as it started raining, you turned into Aqua-Man mixed with James Bond and took out the whole army with your waves and sword fighting."

Hercules looked confused. "James Bond? Who is this figure? I will crush him with my bare hands!"

Nico shifted his position uncomfortably. "Er-no, he's just a mortal actor."

"In the famous Greek plays that everyone liked to make when I was alive?"

"…yes, of course."

"I knew it!"

Nico rolled his eyes. Odysseus nodded in grim approval. "This lad is truly the Avenger. Takes out an entire army just like that, on his own. That is a feat worthy of my respect."

That was it. I jogged up to my team, still in their beach chairs. "Okay, who is the Avenger, what is his significance, and why do you think I'm him? I don't even know who he is." Achilles raised his eyebrow at me, as if he didn't quite believe that I didn't know who this Avenger character is. Nico started to say, "Percy, the Avenger is-" then his eyes widened.

Everyone was looking at the battlefield. I was kind of angry that he didn't follow through with his explanation of this Avenger nonsense, but I followed their gaze. The zombie army was reforming. The dead corpses just stood up, and the body parts started to reassemble.

I looked up at the cave to see my evil twin walk into the cave as soon as he saw I was looking. He then came back out, bringing Annabeth, still tied and gagged.

I clenched my fists, and whispered to Hercules, "Do you think you can get me up there?"

Hercules whispered back, "How fast, hero?"

"As fast as you can", I said without taking my eyes off my twin. I heard him shuffle behind me and whisper, "When?"

"….NOW." Hercules grabbed my ankle, spun me around a couple times for good measure and threw me in the air.

I'm lucky that dead people don't eat. Because I would've lost my food for the last week if this was two weeks. It was crazy how strong this guy was. I flew in the air at speeds approaching 100 mph. I flew, and I saw Perseus widen his eyes, drop Annabeth on the ground, then run into the cave. I flew right above Annabeth, and ran straight into Perseus.

We both tumbled deeper in the cave. Riptide scattered across the cave and hit the other wall. I saw Perseus get up, and swing his sword at me blindly. He was still disoriented from me knocking into him. I easily sidestepped and kicked him in the face. He grunted in pain, and his body snapped back, and I tackled him. He kicked me in the air and off him. I got a quick look around. We were in about a 50 foot circle around us. Around the circle were the five rivers. I was already familiar with all of them from the not-so-welcoming-way they looked. The rivers were about 100 feet wide. I needed to get to Annabeth.

Annabeth does this all the time, and I always fall for it. I yelled, "Hey dummy!" Perseus turned around with a snarl on his face. I punched him the face, then jumped over him and sprinted into the cave. I saw Annabeth on the ground, still gagged. I took the gag out her mouth, and started to untie her.

"Oh, gods! Percy, don't bathe in the rivers! You don't know what they'll feel like. Just don't. What if you dissolve in your essence is sent to Tartarus?"

"That's where it gets sent?" I always thought that even if I dissolved, my dust would be at least in Elysium. Yeah, I know, dumb thought.

Annabeth nodded. I finally untied her. She stood up and stretched her body. We both turned around to see Perseus with Riptide in his hand. He grinned. "Take it, clone." He tossed the sword in the air towards me and I caught it with one hand, the other holding Annabeth.

He got out his much larger sword. I sighed. "You need to quit this, Perseus. Surrender, and we can take you to the Underworld psychologist or something for your multiple personality disorder. Please, I don't want to bathe in those rivers as much as you do."

He spun his sword and sneered. "Funny, clone. Always had a sense of humor. How much did that get you when I took your place at Camp? Took your girlfriend? Slept with the girl that loves you? You know I also stopped off at the Oracle's place first, right?"

Annabeth looked like she had gotten smacked. Perseus smirked, as if it pleased him to see Annabeth frustrated.

"How do you think I was able to steal your girlfriend and not have you know? Your whole life, I stole. And you were forced out of your life and into the shadows. I took the good, you took the bad. Sad, isn't it?" He ran his fingers through his hair. I looked at Annabeth. Was it me or did she look a little…guilty?

Perseus looked straight at me. "Your girlfriend likes bad boys. She loved me. Especially when I was on top of her and everything-"

"STOP!" I yelled. I knew it was still raining outside, so I held out my hand and a huge wave washed into the cave. I pushed Annabeth at the corner of the cave, which was the only spot that was going to stay dry. The wave crashed in and I turned it into a fist, knocking Perseus into the cave wall.

Perseus growled, and attacked me. I charged him, then as soon as he was swinging down on me, my form shifted into a snake. The sword passed harmlessly over me. I wasn't even aware that I could change forms in the Underworld, but apparently I can. I lunged underneath his legs so I was behind him, then turned human again. Perseus kicked me in the chest, and as soon as I hit the ground, I backflipped and landed on my feet. I saw Annabeth with her knife trying to creep up. I tried to yell, but Perseus sensed her. He turned around and swung on her.

Annabeth parried and kicked him from under his feet. He stumbled, then smacked her across the room. I charged him while his back was turned. I was swinging my sword down when it passed straight through Perseus' form. That's when I noticed that he had turned into gas. His form turned gaseous, then rose in the cave as a vapor until he was gone. Then I sensed danger behind me, and as soon as I turned, he stabbed me in the chest. I kicked him away, and he grabbed my shirt as we both tumbled into the River Kokytos.


	29. Chapter 29

Percy

We both plunged into the deep purple river. As I fell towards it, I saw images and clips of people doing bad things; stealing, violence, jeering, bullying, lying, divorces, and I couldn't help but think of Annabeth.

Time stopped. Like literally stopped. A hooded figure stood before me, which didn't give me any more faith than it did when I was alive. Thanatos. He took off his hood, and spoke in that raspy voice. He looked me in my eyes as if I was a pet that he was releasing into the wild for the first time.

"_Percy…you are on your own. This is your last chance to back out. Once you bathe in one of these rivers, you must bathe in the other three. You've already bathed in the Styx, so you'll be fine. You have no friends to lead into battle this time. The rivers will exploit your mental and physical weaknesses. For now, you will be given a flesh and blood body. This is the case because the masters of these rivers want the pain to be as severe as possible. Back out, Percy Jackson. Quit. And live to fight another day. If you lose the mental battle in all 3, your essence will burn out. This…will hurt." _

Great. That's encouraging. "This is the only way to beat him?"

Thanatos hesitated. "_Yes, half-blood." _

"Then I'm sure. If Death says that it's going to hurt, it's probably going to hurt. But even in death, I'm still a hero. Who doesn't back down to any challenge."

Thanatos bowed his head as if he expected the answer. He raised his hand in a farewell gesture, which didn't strike confidence into me once more.

We fell into it, and instantly, we let go of each other because our will was broken. I want you to think. Think of the coldest place you've ever been in. Now take that and multiply that by 100. You have a fraction of how bad that the river felt like. It was _cold. _It was freezing, must've been like 1000 degrees below zero. My body, even though it was a ghostly form, was frozen and it took a great deal of effort to even raise my arm. I had a hunch that if I had done this in my mortal body, I would've died instantly. I couldn't think. I couldn't see where Perseus was. I was frozen. I could actually see Annabeth's form run over to the edge of the river.

Then, I heard her voice in my head. _**Seaweed Brain! I don't know if you can hear me or not! I had Grover establish an empathy link with you when Poseidon told us that Perseus was the wrong one. So hopefully you can listen! It's probably not feeling good right now-**_

I almost had the energy to laugh in my head. My response was like, _You….don't….AAAAGHHHHH SO COLD SO COLD SO COLD SO COLD. _

Annabeth continued, but I could sense the concern in her voice. _**Look, Perseus is going through the same thing. Now, do you know how each river has a lingering effect if you actually make it out? Just as the Styx makes you invulnerable, the Phelgethon or whatever makes you stronger. The Kokytos, the river of Wailing and lamentation, increases your power if you make it out by yourself. If you don't, it will freeze you, and will sweep you up. You're going to flow through all four of the rivers in one big circle.**_

Her voice faded along with my consciousness. Now, along with the cold, I opened my eyes and saw several clips of my life playing out in front of me at the same time. It wasn't unlike the prison that I climbed out of. I saw one of them was on the bus when I was 11 years old. I saw the familiar faces of my 6th grade class; Grover and Nancy Bobofit especially out of all them. I saw my back to the little camera. It showed Nancy Bobofit looking at me in a….shy way? Oh gods…she _liked _me. It showed Nancy flicking Grover's hair, and when I turned to look at her to yell at her, she turned red. She had a crush on me….and I pretty much was mean to her.

I felt a punch in my jaw. Perseus. For some reason, he isn't affected…oh…because he doesn't have a conscience! He doesn't regret any bad thing, so he's just focused on overcoming the cold by attacking me. I tried to hit him, but another vision blocked my way; it showed me and Tyson. It showed a time when Tyson and I were at Camp for the first time and everyone was staring at him and making faces. I didn't do anything…in fact it showed me covering my face in shame and running to the cabin. Tyson. My half-brother that I'm now proud of.

_**Percy! If you don't fight Perseus, he'll kill you! Get over your regrets and come on! Fight back!**_

Sure enough, I could feel hands around my neck. Perseus was winning. I struggled to kick him away, but my body wouldn't respond to my mental commands. I was frozen. It was a mental battle to resist having the visions take hold again. Perseus kicked me in the stomach; slow, but still just as forceful. I doubled over, and I could feel Perseus pushing off me and swimming towards the water.

_**PERCY! DON'T LET THE VISIONS TAKE HOLD AGAIN! **_

But it was too late. Another vision came, and it showed Calypso and I on the island. I was back on the island of Ogygia. The way Calypso looked at me…there was love evident in her face. The closest thing to a regret that I had. Calypso.

_I brought my eyes back to earth. However amazing the stars were, Calypso was twice as brilliant. I mean, I've seen the goddess of love herself, Aphrodite, and I would never say this out loud or she'd blast me to ashes, but for my money, Calypso was a lot more beautiful, because she just seemed so natural, like she wasn't trying to be beautiful and didn't even care about that. She just was. With her braided hair and white dress, she seemed to glow in the moonlight. She was holding a tiny plant in her hands. Its flowers were silver and delicate._

"_I was just looking at…" I found myself staring at her face. "Uh…I forgot."_

I got punched in the stomach, and threw farther into the river. It was unfair that he didn't feel any regrets. True, Calypso would always be my biggest _what-if, _and what Perseus did with Calypso, I feel guilt…regrets about it.

_She would look at me and we'd share a smile, but almost immediately she'd get that sad expression again and turn away. I didn't understand what was bothering her.___

_One night we were eating dinner together at the beach. Invisible servants had set up a table with beef stew and apple cider, which may not sound all that exciting, but that's because you haven't tasted it. I hadn't even noticed the invisible servants when I first got to the island, but after a while I became aware of the beds making themselves, meals cooking on their own, clothes being washed and folded by unseen hands.___

_Anyway, Calypso and I were sitting at dinner, and she looked beautiful in the candlelight. I was telling her about New York and Camp Half-Blood, and then I started telling her about the time Grover had eaten an apple while we were playing Hacky Sack with it. She laughed, showing off her amazing smile, and our eyes met. Then she dropped her gaze.___

_"There it is again," I said.___

_"What?"___

_"You keep pulling away, like you're trying not to enjoy yourself."___

_She kept her eyes on her glass of cider. "As I told you, Percy, I have been punished. Cursed, you might say."___

_"How? Tell me. I want to help."___

_"Don't say that. Please don't say that."___

_"Tell me what the punishment is."___

_She covered her half-finished stew with a napkin, and immediately an invisible servant whisked the bowl away. "Percy, this island, Ogygia, is my home, my birthplace. But it is also my prison. I am under…house arrest, I guess you would call it. I will never visit this Manhattan of yours. Or anywhere else. I am alone here."___

_"Because your father was Atlas."___

_She nodded. "The gods do not trust their enemies. And rightly so. I should not complain. Some of the prisons are not nearly as nice as mine."___

_"But that's not fair," I said. "Just because you're related doesn't mean you support him. This other daughter I knew, Zoë, Nightshade—she fought against him. She wasn't imprisoned."___

_"But, Percy," Calypso said gently, "I did support him in the first war. He is my father."___

_"What? But the Titans are evil!"___

_"Are they? All of them? All the time?" She pursed her lips. "Tell me, Percy. I have no wish to argue with you. but do you support the gods because they are good, or because they are your family?"___

_I didn't answer. She had a point. Last winter, after Annabeth and I had saved Olympus, the gods had had a debate about whether or not they should kill me. That hadn't been exactly good. But still, I felt like I supported them because Poseidon was my dad.___

_"Perhaps I was wrong in the war," Calypso said. "And in fairness, the gods have treated me well. They visit me from time to time. They bring me word of the outside world. But they can leave. And I cannot."___

_"You don't have any friends?" I asked. "I mean…wouldn't anyone else live here with you? it's a nice place."___

_A tear trickled down her cheek. "I…I promised myself I wouldn't speak of this. But—"___

_She was interrupted by a rumbling sound somewhere out on the lake. A glow appeared on the horizon. It got brighter and brighter, until I could see a column of fire moving across the surface of the water, coming toward us.___

_I stood and reached for my sword. "What is that?"___

_Calypso sighed. "A visitor."_

I couldn't move. I was frozen. My thinking went out the window. It was just as if someone had put me into a vegetative state and sat me in a movie theater and forced me to watch a movie of my own life. I tried to make a noise, but I couldn't.

_I walked along the beach for several hours. When I finally came back to the meadow, it was very late, maybe four or five in the morning, but Calypso was still in her garden, tending the flowers by starlight. Her moonlace glowed silver, and the other plants responded to the magic, glowing red and yellow and blue.___

_"He has ordered you to return," Calypso guessed.___

_"Well, not ordered. He gave me a choice."___

_Her eyes met mine. "I promised I would not offer."___

_"Offer what?"___

_"For you to stay."___

_"Stay," I said. "Like…forever?"___

_"You would be immortal on this island," she said quietly. "You would never age or die. You could leave the fight to others, Percy Jackson. You could escape your prophecy."___

_I stared at her, stunned. "Just like that?"___

_She nodded. "Just like that."___

_"But…my friends."_

And there I was again. Not thinking about her, thinking about my feelings and how I would feel. I didn't give a thought about the fact that she was in love with me and the only way it took me to show her some affection was when my evil clone had to be made and slept with her to spite Annabeth. I tried to move my arms, but I couldn't. I didn't know if souls could contract hypothermia, but I felt like I was dying from the cold.

_**Seaweed Brain! If you don't get out soon, you'll be a nice fish popsicle! Go! NOW! PERSEUS is trying to escape, and you'll be trapped down there! **_

I thought, _**Annabeth-**_

_Calypso rose and took my hand. Her touch sent a warm current through my body. "You asked about my curse, Percy. I did not want to tell you. The truth is the gods send me companionship from time to time. Every thousand years or so, they allow a hero to wash up on my shores, someone who needs my help. I tend to him and befriend him, but it is never random. The Fates make sure that the sort of hero they send…"_

Her voice trembled, and she had to stop.

I squeezed her hand tighter. "What? What have I done to make you sad?"

"They send a person who can never stay," she whispered. "Who can never accept my offer of companionship for more than a little while. They send me a hero I can't help…just the sort of person I can't help falling in love with."

The night was quiet except for the gurgle of the fountains and waves lapping on the shore. It took me a long time to realize what she was saying.

"Me?" I asked.

"If you could see your face." She suppressed a smile, though her eyes were still teary. "Of course, you."

"That's why you've been pulling away all this time?"

"I tried very hard. But I can't help it. The Fates are cruel. They sent you to me, my brave one, knowing that you would break my heart."

I broke her heart. That was me. Percy Jackson. Proven to be no different than all the other famous cocky heroes who seemed to wash up on her island, take her hospitality for granted, and leave her heartbroken.

_**PERCY! IF YOU DON'T WAKE UP, I'M JUMPING IN AFTER YOU! **_

I tried to breathe. Spots were dancing in my vision. I used all my willpower, _**Don't…Annabeth….don't….**_

I screamed mentally. I saw Perseus swimming up; slowly, but making progress. I sank to the bottom of the sea, destined to stay there in a frozen state of suspended animation. It was so cold, it hurt.

"_But…I'm just…I mean, I'm just me." "That is enough," Calypso promised. "I told myself I would not even speak of this. I would let you go without even offering. But I can't. I suppose the Fates knew that, too. You could stay with me, Percy. I'm afraid that is the only way you could help me."_

I stared at the horizon. The first red streaks of dawn were lightening the sky. I could stay here forever, disappear from the earth. I could live with Calypso, with invisible servants tending to my every need. We could grow flowers in the garden and talk to songbirds and walk on the beach under perfect blue skies. No war. No prophecy. No more taking sides.

"I can't," I told her.

She looked down sadly.

"I would never do anything to hurt you," I said, "but my friends need me.

I know how to help them now. I have to get back."

She picked a flower from her garden—a sprig of silver moonlace. Its glow faded as the sunrise came up. Daybreak is a good time for decisions, Hephaestus had said. Calypso tucked the flower into my T-shirt pocket.

She stood on her tiptoes and kissed me on the forehead, like a blessing.

"Then come to the beach, my hero. And we will send you on your way."

The raft was a ten-foot square of logs lashed together with a pole for a mast and a simple white linen sail. It didn't look like it would be very seaworthy, or lakeworthy.

"This will take you wherever you desire," Calypso promised. "It is quite safe."

I took her hand, but she let it slip out of mine.

"Maybe I can visit you," I said.

She shook her head. "No man ever finds Ogygia twice, Percy. When you leave, I will never see you again."

There were regrets on both sides. She asked me if I could stay on her island and keep her company; she only has visitors once every couple centuries. That must've been heartbreaking to see another hero leave her. I…was a heartbreaker. The fact that I didn't think about Annabeth not one time during that, and the fact that I left Calypso anyway, is my biggest regret.

I heard a splash, even though my senses were shutting down. I saw…no….ANNABETH jump in and kick Perseus down. I could see her body go rigid as the cold and the shock hit her. Her voice and thoughts left my mind. She was probably thinking about Luke...he always was better than me….

_The Sea, my son. The Sea. Use the Sea. _

Stop. I am Percy Jackson. I have freed Calypso from her punishment and Annabeth Chase is my girlfriend. I felt an intense tugging sensation in my gut. The power of the sea. I built up all my energy and yelled at the top of my lungs.

I could move again. I swam, and ignored the cold, freezing, deathly temperatures and the video clips playing around me. I swam faster and faster; I missed a physical body. I felt strong and quick. I swam up, caught Annabeth, kicked Perseus away, and threw Annabeth with all my might out the river and onto the deathly shore.

I caught hold of Perseus, and maintained a death grip on him as a strong wind passed through and blew us through the Kokytos, and into the next river. He struggled against me, but I held on. Perseus apparently had an advantage over me in this one, but I had a feeling that the advantage won't apply in these next rivers. If this one was so hard that I almost froze to death and it took Annabeth and my father to jump in and inspire me, I'm going to have fun with these next rivers.

I get it. There's a reason why that river is also called the River of Wailing. Because the best way to beat the river is to scream or yell out loud and focus on that rather than your regrets. I'm lucky I was a generally good guy in life, or else I might've lost the battle.


	30. Chapter 30

Percy

I can't even tell you how bad the next one was. The next one was definitely the Akheron, the river of pain…or at least I hope it is.

The wind had blown us to the next river, and as the force was blowing us, the pain had gone away for a couple seconds and I felt myself. For a little while. Then we got thrown into the next river.

The Akheron was….pain itself. Let me see if I can describe it…think about having your body being slow-roasted on a fire. Then think about unlimited warriors just stabbing you and every part of your body for all the time that we were in there. Then, think about little people in your body just breaking every part of your bones, and other little people stabbing your muscles with knives. Then, think about someone punching and kicking you at the same time. You still won't even come close to how it felt. Invisible knives just tearing your body apart. Just hacking at your body until you're dead. Or until your essence got taken away from it.

I heard Annabeth's voice in my head. _**Wow…remind me to never go into rivers of regret ever again. **_She panted a few times.

Her voice took the pain away a slight fraction. _**Okay….never… go… into rivers of regret… ever again. **_

I heard Annabeth laugh a little in her head. _**You are so dumb, Seaweed Brain. What river are you in now? Let me help you. **_

_**OWWWWWWW-AGHHHHHHH IT HURTS SO BADLY!**_

_**So it's the Akheron. Okay, Percy, the key to beating the Akheron is to focus on something else besides the pain, or else it will rip you up. If one actually manages to shut out the pain totally, they've beaten the river. In a way, it is the most dangerous river. **_

Okay…so don't think about the pain. Too late. I thought about it. The pain intensified. I screamed, and water of the Akheron flowed into my now-physical throat. It felt like the pain had doubled; inside me and outside my body. The pain tripled. My body thrashed in the river.

_**SEAWEED BRAIN! Percy! Stay with me! Come on. Think about us! Thalia! Grover! My work! My orientation! **_

The pain lessened by a fraction as I started to think about it. _**Your-agh-your dry….zombies….that you work with….I'm afraid….that….they'll….eat….my….brain if they…find out…that…I fell…asleep…on them….**_

Annabeth laughed. _**Seaweed Brain! You think that my orientation is worse than our "vacations" under the sea? Everyone hates me! They see me and they're like 'Ugh, you're Percy's girlfriend? You are unworthy! You should see all the fish that try to get with you. **_

I felt insulted. The pain lessened a little again. It still hurt unthinkably.__

_**Yes! My ocean brothers are much better than your dry zombies! At least they're exciting! That's why we're going there after all this blows over. **_

Annabeth sighed. _**Aren't you dead, Seaweed Brain? **_

I mentally feigned hurt at the comment. _**You want me to be dead? Fine, I can have that arranged. **_

I shut off the connection from Annabeth. I could feel her rising panic. _**Seaweed Brain! Percy! JACKSON! IF YOU DON'T ANSWER ME RIGHT NOW- **_

_**Calm down, Wise Girl. I'm right here, I was just checking my phone.**_

…_**.what are you talking about? YOU HAVE NO PHONE! **_

…_**oh yeah. **_

_**You are so dumb, Percy. **_

The pain decreased by a fraction. Now, the pain inside my body stopped completely. Don't think about it.

_**Wise Girl…I got a proposition for you. **_

I could practically see her eyebrow raise in analyzing of me and my challenge.

_**What is it? And it better not be anything dumb, or else I'm going to jump in that river and slap the seawater out you. **_

_**Wonderful. Anyway I bet you that I could make a better breakfast than you. **_

I could hear Annabeth laughing. We seemed at ease, just like we were driving in the car. If the pain started at like an 1000, it had gone down to a 700.

_**Seaweed Brain, your idea of a good breakfast is Lucky Charms, a banana, and some stuff taken from IHOP! **_

_**I take offense to that. I just steal their recipe, send it to Mom, then she makes it for me, then sends it back to me. Then I surprise you. **_

_**Oh, so that's what you do? Now I know what to punish you for. **_

…_**jeez. I didn't mean to say that! **_

_**Too late. **_

I mentally face-palmed myself. Good-bye, peaceful nights of sleep with my girlfriend in our condo, and hello to nice nights on the couch. Oh, wait….I'm dead. That's right. That would kind of prevent me from doing that. The pain had gone down to a 600.

_**Seaweed Brain! **_

_**Huh? **_

_**The proper response is "Yes, beautiful one?" **_

_**Who are you talking about, Wise Girl?**_

_***sigh* Fine, I give up. Anyway do you know that I won an UIA gold medal award. **_

_**A YMCA? An IOU? Um, congratulations?**_

_**NO, dummy. I swear you're doing this on purpose. It's an UIA gold medal.**_

_**Okay, well repeating is not going to help me get it; you sound like Mrs. Dodds.**_

_**Shut up. It's awarded to honor an architect for having distinguished themselves through their work and professional practice by the quality of services rendered to man and society. **_

_**Aren't you a woman?**_

…_**.no, I'm secretly a horse disguised as Annabeth Chase. And I happened to attract men with the intelligence of horses. **_

_**Then…that would mean I would have control over you since Poseidon created you, right?**_

_**UGH!**_

_**I'm just playing around, congratulations! You must be the youngest to ever win that award, not to mention being a female.**_

I could still feel Annabeth's anger at me messing around with her, but she's not going to resist compliments. The pain went down to a 300. It hurt about as much as the River Styx now. No big deal….who am I kidding? I'm speaking in complete thoughts! That's a step in the right direction! I felt a knife stab in my chest. I cried out, and the pain shot back up to a 500.

_**PERCY! Are you okay? **_

_**NO, I'M JUST FINE! **_

_**Hey! Sarcasm is my line! **_

…

I laughed to myself. The pain went back down to a 250. Then, Annabeth decided to speed things along by bringing up a subject that is most man's nightmare.

_**So when are you getting me a rock? **_

…_**what are you talking about? What rock? What do you mean? **_

_**Oh, you know what I'm talking about Seaweed Brain. I need a rock to show off to all of Camp, so where is it? All I do for you! Psh! **_

The pain must've gone all the way down to like an 100, because I was panicking.

…_**what rock? **_

_***sigh* You're going to make me explain it? Classy move, Seaweed Brain. You had told me a couple months ago that you were going to get me a rock from Poseidon's palace himself. **_

I practically deflated with relief. Annabeth has the memory of an Owl. She wasn't talking about what I was talking about…but I might as well.

_**Annabeth, I'll get you a rock if you were my wife. **_

…_**.what are you saying? **_I could feel the tension build up in her mind.

_**I'm asking you to marry me! Gosh! Is it that complicated! **_

_**NO! I'm not marrying you, asking like that. You have to ask me using proper grammar.**_

_**Grammar Nazi. **_

_**I'll turn you into a Grammar Jew if you don't do it. **_

I chose the less dangerous option.

…_**Annabeth Chase, I have….ow….loved you since we had gone across the Sea of Monsters together. You remember Clarisse? **_

Annabeth laughed in agreement. _**When she captured us and tried to keep us captive with the skeletons?**_

_**When we faced Polyphemus?**_

_**And when you gave Clarisse the Fleece to save her reputation…..why did you do that, anyway?**_

_**Because I had a crush on her. **_

…

_**Wow, can't believe you actually believed that one. **_

_**Shut up. **_

_**The point is, I've loved you for a long time, and the last couple years after the big prophecies has been…owwwww….the best time of my life, and the last years of my life. And I take that as a sign to show that you're the one for me. Always and Forever. Even through death and life. So….Annabeth Chase….aka Wise Girl- **_

_**JUST GET TO IT, SEAWEED BRAIN! **_

_**-if I was alive, would you marry me?**_

Time seemed to stop. Annabeth was silent for a long time. I didn't even feel any pain. It was gone. I was focusing on what she was going to say. Was she going to say no? Yes? This wasn't really the way that I wanted to ask her, but I've always wanted to propose, and yet I always lacked money. Now that I'm dead and bathing in the river of pain, money doesn't seem a priority.

I could hear her sobbing.

_**Annabeth! What's wrong? **_

…_**.*sniff*…yes, Seaweed Brain, I would marry you. And I'll still marry you. I'll wait for you…I'll wait for you. If you wait for me-**_

_**Of course, of course. Who else am I going to find, I got my supermodel genius girlfriend right here? **_

…_**.I love you, Percy Jackson. **_

_**I love you too, Annabeth Owl-Girl Chase. **_

_**I swear, I will kill you. **_

_**Too late. **_

And that was it. The pain was no more, and I didn't feel anything else. A strong wind and force blew me towards Perseus, who was still agonizing in pain. But I had to pick him up, because I could only defeat him with Nico's plan…if I got to the Lethe, which is last. But I'm relieved…I got through the last couple rivers with Annabeth's help. I loved that girl with all my heart…and I was going to get through this for her. I thought of my mom, Tyson, Grover, Thalia, Jason, Piper, Hazel, Leo, Frank, Chiron, Reyna, Gwen, every one else.

I was going to do it for them. For…Olympus. And the force carried me through the river as the pain disappeared. I grabbed Perseus by his shirt and pulled him with me as he was still writhing in pain. And we blew into the next river; the River of Fire.


	31. Chapter 31

Percy

We blew into the River of Fire together. As we were released into the river, I saw Annabeth running to stand on the shore of this river. And then I realized that we weren't the only ones in it.

I saw other souls; not bodies…just souls, boiling and torturing in it. They screamed in it, wailed, gritted their teeth. I saw a huge guy with a huge beard and combat clothes on; I recognized him from my history book….Attila the Hun. This lake is for the people who had done nothing but evil in their lives. Then the heat hit.

The heat burned my skin, and my whole skin was on fire underwater. I screamed along with the other evil souls, even though I didn't belong here. Perseus screamed also, but he actually belonged here for what he did. The fire ate away at my mortal skin and burned it to my bones. Then my skin healed automatically, and the fire burned it away again. I was in constant torture. I yelled in agony as tears came to my eyes, but the tears automatically turned into steam from evaporation and went into my eyes, irritating them, and defying all laws of physics. Then again, me just being alive is a defiance of physics so who am I kidding? I'm the son of a Greek god and a mortal woman.

I tried taking my mind off the pain, but it didn't seem to work. In fact, the burning got worse. Every part of me was on fire; I felt like taking a dip in the Styx as a little cool off. I cried and yelled. Annabeth, my fiancée, was shut off from me. I couldn't hear her. I was just yelling. I don't know how long I spent in there being tortured, but I realized that the closer to the surface that you swim, the less that it burns. But it still burns your skin off, just not as severely. The collection of souls were up near the surface, but apparently they couldn't burst through. I realized that the water was red….I didn't even want to know if this was actually water or blood. I swam up to the surface, and fought off souls who were crying and yelling. I yelled and screamed with them, and Perseus actually swam up slowly so he was next to me. He had tears in his eyes also. Perseus, the big bad tough guy who is the superior of Percy Jackson; crying like a little baby….just like me. Wonderful.

My arm skin burned off again and it grew back once more. I was agonizing there. Then, I saw a ghost knock a little child off the surface and the child sunk like a rock towards the bottom of the river, yelling and crying as he went down. I don't know what horrible things he did to earn himself here, but he sounded innocent as he screamed and sunk. He moved his arms…but it was futile. He just kept sinking as the fire consumed him, grew him back, then consumed him again.

No….he shouldn't have to go through that. He's just a kid…in the Underworld in the lake of fire, but still just a kid. Then, it felt like 10 minds were linking with me…ten minds of heroes. I could hear their thoughts towards me.

_**Percy! About time, cousin. Let's get you out of here real quick; me being a Hunter, I get hungry very easily. **_

_**Shut up, Thalia! Look, Percy, it's your boy Grover. You'll be cool, you'll be alright. **_

_**Percy! Oh gods, Percy, are you okay? Jason, jump in after him! **_

_**Piper, are you insane? **_

_**Jason's right, Piper McLean. Our former praetor needs to find a way out himself. **_

_**Okay, I may be a slow ox as most of you call me, but shouldn't we be helping Percy? **_

_**Frank's right, you guys. I see through Percy's eyes that a child is falling through…Percy's planning to save him. **_

_**And prove what? That he's going to save a soul? When they're already in hell? He should just as well get a pizza or something.**_

_**Percy, come on, man. Just like when we were in the River Styx. **_

_**We? Save it. My boyfriend will make it out. Just like HE made it out the Styx, the Akheron, and the Kokytos. **_

So that's who it was. Thalia, Grover, Jason, Piper, Frank, Hazel, Nico, Annabeth, Reyna, and Leo. I know Leo from the pizza comment. Annabeth spoke up again.

_**Alright. Lock your minds with his…give him the power of the sea. Everyone think about the sea. **_

Instantly, in my mind, there was rushing waves, and I could hear my father. _Go, my son. Go, do a heroic deed in seemingly horrible circumstances. _

_Thanks, Dad. _

_**LEO! Take your thoughts about pizza out my fiancée's- my boyfriend's head! **_

_**Fiancee? MMMMMM Annabeth, I SEE YOU! **_

I felt the coldness of the sea wash over my body. I felt strong. I swam down, and ignored the heat. The power of the sea propelled me towards the little boy who was falling down in the fire. I swam down, and ignored the wailing of the other souls. I swam and swam, and spoke. "Grab my hand!"

The little boy screamed, and he put his hand out. I grabbed his hand, and pulled him up. I pulled him up and up until he took my place near the surface. A selfless act, in the lake of fire. If the pattern was right, I was going to feel a little something-and there it was.

The familiar wind and force pulled me out away from the river. I grabbed Perseus' wrist, and we both washed out through the River of Fire, away from the screams and curses, the wailing and crying, and towards the most challenging out of all the rivers; the challenge to keep your identity…who you are.


	32. Chapter 32

Percy

The force blew us into a clear water setting. I could open my eyes, because the water felt like regular freshwater. I looked at my arms and my body in general…I looked terrible. My skin was literally hanging off in tatters as the muscle and the bone showed through my whole body. I didn't feel any pain, and yet I looked like a victim of Freddy Kreuger.

The water didn't heal me as any regular body of water would, but the pain was gone. I could only feel the lingering burning sensation of the River of Fire, and the leftover pain of the River of Pain. I thought of everybody, and everything. All the people I missed….like…like…who? Oh, no. It's started.

I looked at Perseus and saw him staring at me. The water seemed to be washing away his skin, but it wasn't hurting him physically. It just seemed to wash away his essence and his spirit as the Lethe took away our memories.

I tried to think of everyone. Annabeth, that's my girlfriend and my fiancée. I just proposed to her in a way a couple minutes ago. She would be my wife if I was still alive.

Thalia, my cousin and brother of…of…that guy….the son of Zeus….what is his NAME? NO!

I felt the River Lethe taking away my memories, starting with the latest ones. Images and clips flashed through my mind of my life, and they disappeared, and every time I would try to recall it, it would disappear. I yelled and tried to fight it, but this river worked on a Titan. Iapetus.

What am I in? Is this a lake? Why am I in a lake? Who is that over there? Why does he look just like me?

Then it hit me like a punch to the face. All my memories were washing away. I am Percy Jackson, from Manhattan, son of Poseidon and….and….AND….no….who's my mother? I could see the water around me turn into the color of my skin as if it was washing away my very body along with my memory.

I have a girlfriend. Annabeth Chase. I have friends. I am Greek? Roman? Egyptian? Canadian? What am I? I go to camp…camp….I go to a camp.

I saw the person across from me go limp as he floated in the Lethe. He looks just like me…who is he? My twin brother? Why is he here with me? Are we dead? How did we die? Who is Annabeth?

And I passed out.

I woke up floating in a body of water. Is she a friend? Is she my mother? Who…am I? Who….what am I doing here? How old am I?

I swam towards the limp body. Maybe I should help him somehow. I swam over to him. I grabbed him by his shirt; he seemed unconscious. His eyes were rolled back into his head. I swam upwards. I should get to shore…maybe that girl….wait…what's her name…what's her NAME? I felt like I was latching onto something that I should know…what was the girl's name? Who am I? Where am I? Who's that girl? Then I heard a voice in my head. A girl's voice.

_**Hey! Seaweed Brain! You don't know how long it took to get in contact with you! Are you okay? Do you still remember anything? **_

Who is that? Who is she? Seaweed Brain….AGH. My mind went fuzzy, as if there were several memories linked to that. Was that a name? A person?

_**Um, I don't know who you are? Unless I'm going crazy, who are you? I don't…I don't remember anything. **_

I felt tension in my head, as if my brain was fearing for somebody…panic? Yes, that's it…I felt panic in her voice.

_**I expected that. Look, I can't tell you anything about your past now. If you want to swim up and start a new life in Elysium, which is Paradise in the Underworld, you can. **_

_**But wouldn't I still have no memory? **_

_**Yes. Or you could swim all the way down in the darkest parts of the river…there's rocks and hazards there, and you would have to battle someone for your memory back. Then, you can decide what to do from there.**_

I have to admit; living in Paradise and start a new life with fellowship, friends, and no memory? Or venture in the deepest, darkest parts of the river to fight someone for my memory. Then, if I actually beat them, I could have my memory and my life back.

The choice should've been easy, but something tells me that I always take the hardest and most dangerous route for some reason. And something else tells me that this wasn't the first time that I lost my memory…okay, why did an image of a bunch of cows and the sound of a girl screaming…the girl in my head go through my mind? __

Anyway, I swam down and down. I left the guy who looks just like me up in the river as I swam down. The more I swam, the more comfortable I felt. I had done this before. I just don't know where. I avoided rocks, sharp jagged spikes, and as I went down, the water turned black. As the water turned black, everything started to turn red in my vision, sort of like an infrared kind of thing. Wait, what's infrared?

Anyway, I swam down and down, avoiding all the obstacles. Then, I ran into a structure made out of all marble. I looked at myself. I was a mess. My clothes were tattered, my skin was bright red as if I had some fun with paint. I had no shoes, and my hair was all over the place, but something tells me that's normal. My eyes were….what color was that…green? They were green…green as the….images of water crashing down went through my mind, but I couldn't place my finger of what it was called.

I heard a sigh and a laugh. I swam down even further until my feet met the sand. I was at the bottom of the river. I walked in, and suddenly I had a sword in my hand. I gripped it with two hands. I might need this for some reason. I wanted my memories.

I swam until I saw a little cabin that was built. I paused outside the door. Should I knock? Should I just come in? That's what I did. I just opened the door, and there was a woman with long black hair and orange skin. She was sitting in a folding chair watching a huge projection in front of her. It was showing a movie…I thought I spotted myself in it when she turned around and turned it off quickly. She snarled at me. "Where did I put my hairpin?"

"Umm, I don't know?"

"What do you want?"

"Umm…I want my memories back?"

She stood up, and must've been like 8 feet tall. She wore a long orange and black dress. "I am Lethe. The personification of forgetfulness and oblivion. And this is my river. You think that you're going to get your memories back that easily? I enjoy watching other people's lives. It's entertaining to me. So why would I give you back yours? Now where did I put my sword?"

She tore up her little place, throwing paperwork and CD's in the air, knocking over things, and moving at super-speed. I noticed her sword right in front of me. I looked at her and kept my eyes on her as I carefully picked it up and threw it out the door and into her river. She still was tearing up the place absent-mindedly, occasionally yelling some other thing that she had lost while looking for her sword. I cleared my throat.

"Um, -Amazing-Personification of forgetfulness? I think I see your sword out in the river. Lethe spun around, her eyes gleaming. She swam past me at impossible speeds and into the river. I looked behind me, then shut the door and locked it. I immediately heard banging on the door. So I needed to hustle up.

I ran in the room, jumping and leaping over fallen desks and shelves she had knocked over trying to find her sword. She reminded me of a person who had Alzheimer's disease. Whatever that is. I rushed over to the TV, and saw a device I recognized as a DVD player. I pressed the eject button, and the CD came out, a pure sea green disc. Yeah, that's right. Sea green. I looked at the CD. It read, Perseus "Percy" Jackson. Who's that….wait, that's ME! That's my name! Percy Jackson!

I didn't get any time to celebrate as the front door burst down, and there was Lethe towering over me with her sword in hand.

She snarled. "Impressive trick, demigod. But you're going to have to give my CD back, then live your little life like you usually do. If you steal my CD, you will never live a normal life again."

That got me. I hesitated. Just long enough for her to strike at amazing speed. Her arms were of amazing length, so she caught me off guard. I barely parried it with Riptide, but a part of the sword cut my arm. Suddenly I felt a feeling like my essence was fading away. What was my name again?

Lethe smiled like a snake. "Ah, weren't prepared for that, were you demigod? One solid touch of this sword and you'll be just as memory-challenged as always."

She struck again, but this time I was ready. I parried, then twisted my sword to disarm her. She tried to kick me, but I rolled under her and took a CD out the bookcase. It read, Albert Einstein. It probably wasn't important, so I threw it at her. It hit her in the head, and I threw the CD's like projectiles. Someone had taught me this….I don't know who. She rolled on the ground and got her sword back out. She attacked me, but I tackled her like a football player, and knocked her to the ground. Her hair flew and blinded me…it must've been 5 feet long. While I was tangled in her long flowing hair, I saw her hairpin in it. I cut her hair off from me, giving her an unplanned hair cut.

I don't know how one hairpin could keep that raging beast she calls hair together, but it apparently does. I took the pin, and put it in whatever was left of my pocket.

She gasped and felt her hair. I was afraid that she noticed the pin, but she felt her hair in dismay and unbelief. "You…you…cut off my….my hair! I REFUSED to get a hair cut….you're sent from Hades' barber, aren't you?"

The name _Hades _sent a familiar cold current through me. I didn't like the thought, but it was better than no memories.

"Umm, yeah, I'm from the barber. Sorry. You know what can fix that? Is a nice hairpin."

Her face lit up, as if she totally forgot she was trying to kill me. "I have a hairpin!" She felt her hair, but it wasn't there, of course. She felt it frantically, then started tearing up the place.

"Where…is….this….HAIRPIN!" As she was doing that, I backed out slowly, then launched myself in the river. I heard her frustration at not being able to find anything. She noticed I was gone, then shouted out curses and yells that would've earned her a deluxe beating from my own mother. If I knew who she was.

I swam up and avoided the rocks once more. I was so happy that I got the CD, that I didn't pay attention and knocked my head against the rocks. Blood flew out, and my vision started to go dizzy. The CD left my hands, as I started to sink right back towards Lethe's place.

Then, a strong hand grabbed me and the CD. I looked up and it was…me. My reflection? But his hair was cut, at least. He pulled me up with an emotionless expression, and we both swam up towards the surface. He gave me the CD and gave me a curious look. The CD then turned into a sea green orb, and went right into my heart. I had a sharp intake of breath, then everything came back to me. I am Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon and Sally Jackson. Proud fiancée of Annabeth Chase. I remembered everything. I felt like doing a little dance, but Perseus was looking at me curiously.

I just shrugged my shoulders, and we swam up and burst through the surface. We both landed on the dry ground, staring at the expectant faces of my friends. Leo looked at both of us and asked, "Which one's the real one?"

Jason pushed him, and Piper kicked him. He's getting jumped, as usual, but I saw that him and Reyna were holding hands. I raised my eyebrow at him and Reyna. She gave me her famous look that showed she would just as soon gut you as hug you. I'm glad everything's back to normal.

I got tackled to the ground by Annabeth, planting hugs and kisses all over me and speaking at her fast pace.

"Oh my gods-Percy-are you okay-what's wrong-what should we do with him-how was it-do you feel stronger-are you okay-are we having the wedding now?"

I just nodded and she hugged me again. After a good five minutes of group hugging, and Perseus standing around awkwardly, I put my arm around him. He seemed surprised, but didn't object. Everyone had their hands on their weapons as they were getting ready for any surprises.

Thalia came up and pushed me playfully. "Glad you're alright, Seaweed Brain. You ever put us through that again, we will actually kill you."

Jason came up and shook hands with me, then pulled me in a bro hug. "That was impressive."

Piper looked like a linebacker. I just sighed and held out my arms, and she tackled me to the ground like Annabeth did. Annabeth had to pull her off me. Piper and I had gotten close during the Prophecy of the Seven. She whispered, "I'm glad you're not dead, Fish Face."

Yeah, that was her nickname for me. I shook my head. Grover and everyone else clapped me on the back, until Hazel winked at me. "So, Percy, are you going to show us the rock?"

Leo raised an eyebrow as Reyna tried to hold in a smile. "Got the shackles on you already?"

Everyone cheered and laughed as I turned deathly pale. Annabeth looked at me, then smiled along with them, interlacing her fingers through mine. I answered, "I don't think of it as shackles….more like the key to unlocking my handcuffs."

She kissed me long and soft, and I hugged her again. I would never get tired of that girl's hugs.

Then I heard a throat clearing…my throat clearing. I looked and Perseus had his hands spread. "Um, kind of awkward. Who am I?"

I looked towards the deathly sky. A column in the sky opened and a shape of sunlight gleamed. Then, standing in front of us was a golden horse with a black mane. Our man, Arion. Er, horse I mean.

Arion tossed his mane as if to say, _You guys are not worthy of looking at me. I'm fabulous! I am your ride to Olympus. Zeus demands your presences. All of you. Including the Chinese baby man!_

Frank was deathly pale also, I had almost forgotten about his initial fear and annoyance with the horse. Hazel's eyes lit up and she hopped on, telling everyone to get on. The horse whinnied argumentatively.

I translated, "Um, I don't think he wants all our fat butts on him. So we'll just make a couple trips."

Everyone laughed, and Frank and Grover rode the first time. As Arion took to the sky in a flash of sunlight, Annabeth looked at me with her gray eyes showing the wheels of her mind turning. "Were you serious about wanting to marry me? I mean, I know that I can be demanding and uptight sometimes, but-"

I smirked. "You're amazing, Annabeth. Truly amazing. I couldn't have done it without you. Honestly." She grinned, and Arion came back to pick up Reyna, Piper, and Annabeth.

So it was just Jason, Leo, Perseus, and I left. Leo looked at me. "How does it feel, to be Superman of the day?"

I chuckled. "It's not all it's cut out to be. What's up with you and Xena, the warrior goddess?"

Leo turned red. "Yeah, well the best types of relationships are the ones that you didn't see coming."

I nodded; I could empathize with that. No one saw the two twelve year olds who hated each other were going to get married. Jason raised his eyebrows. "Leo, be careful man. If you're trying to have some children, Reyna will dominate your little fiery behind every time."

We laughed, even Perseus because he pretty much got the scoop. Arion came back, and picked up Perseus, Jason, and Leo. He would come to get me last. He disappeared in a flash of sunlight. I looked out towards the rivers. It was a mental and physical battle, and I couldn't have done it without my friends. I really owed them. I loved them. And they meant the world to me. But that's also my fatal flaw, according to Athena. _You're willing to risk the world to save a friend. _

I looked out wistfully. I had won. Perseus had no idea who he was, and we would deal with that when we got to Olympus. Annabeth and I were getting married, although I would have to do it in person officially. I had won again. With the help of my friends.

I remembered when I had safely returned the master bolt and identified the real thief.

I remembered when I had retrieved the Golden Fleece and brought Thalia back to life.

I remembered when I had saved Annabeth and took part in defeating Atlas.

I remembered when I went through the Labyrinth, made it out, and foiled Luke's plans as Kronos.

I remembered when I had led an army to defeat the Titan Lord Kronos, and made the right choice of the prophecy.

I remembered when I had passed Lupa's training.

I remembered when I had defeated giants, visited the Amazonians, and had all those adventures with Frank and Hazel.

I remembered when the Seven got together.

I remembered when we combined all our unique powers and abilities to defeat Gaea, then defeat her husband Uranus.

And I remembered when we all went our separate ways. Tearful farewells, promises of contact, were all present in the goodbyes. And now we were all back together. Now it's time to discuss rewards and punishments, and to find out about this whole Avenger business.

Who is the Avenger? The best I can put together is that they're a demigod with great powers. That's pretty much it, and that could be any one of my friends. A flash of sunlight burst in the sky, and Arion flew down. He sniffed in disapproval.

_You look and smell terrible. _

I rolled my eyes. When you've bathed in the Underworld, taunts don't mean as much. But I couldn't help myself. "Well you being a horse, I doubt you smell any better. And black and gold…are those customized colors?"

Arion narrowed his eyes, then reared his head back in a horse whinny/laugh.

_You've earned my respect, brother. Let us go. _

I still had a hard time thinking that he would be someone I would invite to a family reunion, but I got on his back, and in a flash of sunlight, we rode to Mount Olympus, the residing place of the gods.


	33. Chapter 33

Percy

Arion took us to the palace of Mount Olympus. It was as breathtaking as usual. Below us was Manhattan, so far up that Thalia would've had a heart attack (which she pretty much did). From the top of the clouds rose a decapitated peak of a mountain, covered with snow. Hanging onto the mountainside were a city of mansions, all with white and gold furniture.

There were amphitheaters, street plays hosted and acted on by nymphs, beautiful rivers, and others. Twelve thrones, built for huge all-powerful cosmic beings, were arranged in an inverted U, just like the cabins at Camp Half-Blood.

A huge fire crackled in the central hearth pit, and for a minute, I could see Hestia in the flames smiling at me. Then she turned away and tended the hearth fire. The thrones were all occupied, full of silent, waiting gods. Was it me, or did the Greek gods of history look….nervous?

Zeus wore his usual dark blue pinstriped suit. He sat on his throne of solid platinum. He had a well-trimmed beard, marbled gray and black like a storm cloud. His face was proud and handsome and grim, his eyes rainy gray. He stared at me with envy and wariness.

Next to him was my father. I was glad to see the Big Three get out of their prison and look as cocky as they usually do. Except for my dad, of course.

He sat on his normal deep-sea fisherman's chair. He held a simple golden trident in his hands as he smiled at me, then his expression turned grim towards Perseus. He smiled at me and suddenly my pocket got heavier. I don't know why, but I didn't check.

Hera sat on her husband's immediate right. She looked at me with a cold motherly smile, that said, _Clean your room, darling, or else I'll have to kill you! Would you like some sandwiches? _

Next to Hera was Athena. Annabeth's mom. She stared down at me with her piercing, unnerving gray eyes that were studying me as if she was seeing which was the best way to kill me in one strike.

Next to Athena was Demeter, who just looked at me and smiled, then went back to growing flowers on Ares' throne across the room, while Ares cursed and yelled.

Next to Demeter was Artemis, who actually looked like a woman instead of an 8 year old girl. She was young and beautiful, and wore hunting clothes. Her posture was that of a natural hunter, which she was. She had a bow and arrow in her hand, and she nodded at me and smiled behind me at Thalia, I guess.

After Artemis sat Aphrodite, and she smiled at me while checking her reflection. I didn't think her to be so beautiful anymore, so I kept my composure by staring at her like a lost puppy until Annabeth squeezed my hand. Hard.

After Dad, Hades sat in his throne glowering at me. That's one of the three things he's good at: killing people, complaining, and glowering. It still struck me as amazing that nobody talks about how he was the person to get out the prison, help his brothers win the war against the Titans, then get cast in the Underworld.

Next to Hades was Ares, who was cursing and ripping the flowers off his manly throne. Hades rolled his eyes as Ares flicked me off.

I sighed. "Yeah, real mature. I bet Mars wouldn't do anything like that."

Ares looked at me and gritted his teeth. "What you say about Mars, punk?" And his form shifted into that of military clothes and he flicked me off in his Roman form. It was my turn to roll my eyes.

After Ares was Dionysus, who I still had a spark of anger towards him for stealing Ariadne from Theseus after he paid for her mistakes. Then, it was Hermes with George and Martha, curling around each other as usual, and it was Apollo, who was listening to his iPod. I sincerely hoped he didn't end this meeting with his haikus.

Zeus stood. The whole place got still. He looked around, and everywhere he looked, the air crackled with ozone. I was slightly impressed that Perseus could apprehend him. Zeus called me up. "PERCY JACKSON! Bring your twin and come up here."

A column rose up in the center of theme for me to stand on. Perseus raised an eyebrow at me and I gestured for him to follow me. Annabeth squeezed my hand reassuringly, then glared at her mom, probably telling her to behave. I walked up and stood on the column confidently. Zeus stared down at me. "I know you have questions. Ask them."

I had many, but I started with the first one. "Did you catch Janus and Ate yet?"

Zeus looked offended. "Of course we did. We are the Olympian gods, are we not? We are all-powerful!" The gods murmured agreement and pounded their weapons on the floor. Perseus looked like he was going to pass out. I knew the feeling back when I was 12.

I thought of my next question. "Am I going to stay dead?"

Poseidon smirked. "That's your choice, son. It's up to you whether you want to or not?"

"What?"

Zeus looked down at me. "We are offering you 3 wishes and godship. Immortality. Again. No other hero has gotten this offer twice."

"Wait, before I say anything, who is the Avenger? What is he?"

The whole room shifted uncomfortably. Zeus sat down. "The Avenger is a spirit of a warrior who would rise in the form of a demigod and surpass the feats of all that walked before him. And you are its latest host."

Its host? I'm nobody's puppet. "Its host? Are you saying I'm possessed?"

Dad laughed. "No, son, it means that you worked hard enough to beat all of us in your actions, so that makes you worthy of the title of the Avenger. Think about it son."

"How have I surpassed the feats of all the demigods who ever lived and the gods themselves?" I looked back at Annabeth and she had her hands over her mouth, her eyes shining. So everyone knew but me.

Poseidon raised his eyebrow. "Shall we? You've defeated Ares, Athena, Hermes, Hades, Phobos, Deimos, Hypnos, me and Zeus himself." Zeus shifted uncomfortably as he had trouble believing that he got whooped by his own nephew.

"Wait, I never defeated Athena, Hermes, or Hypnos?"

"You're still here, are you not? Hermes got angry and tried to destroy you, but he couldn't because you had the curse of Achilles. You didn't fall asleep against Hypnos, so technically you beat him. And you lived 18 years without Athena striking you down. That's an accomplishment in itself."

The whole throne room started applauding except for Athena who rolled her eyes and made a disgusted sound. Poseidon's eyes crinkled as he smiled at her, and at me. "You've defeated Medusa, Alecto, Antaeus, the Clazmonian Sow, Polyphemus, Echidna, Chimera, Geryon, the Kraken, Stheno, Euryale, Hydra, Kampe, Keto, the Manticore, The Minotaur, Laistrygonians, the Nemean Lion, the Sphinx, Talos, Telekhines, and the Symphalian birds, among countless other monsters and demigods."

My face burned red as he went through my accomplishments. They must've known that I had a whole lot of help with that, but I did lead them through it.

"You've encountered and defeated Circe with Annabeth's help, Sisyphus, Phineas, Procrustes, and the Lotus Eaters. You've defeated the giants Alyconeus, and Polybotes. You've defeated Atlas(with help), Hyperion, Iapetus, resisted Prometheus' temptations, and led your team against Kronos in battle and won. And had the discipline to not strike him down yourself out of arrogance. Zeus himself couldn't do that."

Zeus rose from his chair. "Are you saying that I'm impulsive, rash, and cocky, oh brother of mine?"

Poseidon smiled. "Of course."

Zeus grunted and sat back down. Poseidon continued. "You've also recently defeated Gaea and her husband Uranus, the first two life forms of this planet. You've defeated all monsters there is to beat, most of the gods, toppled the Primordial gods and felled the Titans. Along with that, you've led your team against the Amazons and came out alive."

Again, another round of applause. I face-palmed myself and blushed. Perseus was clapping at me also, because he must see that as an accomplishment somehow.

"You've tamed Cerberus, the beast trained to attack and kill anybody who comes near. You've tamed Arion, the fastest horse in history. You've inspired a Hundred-Handed one, Briares, to fight and he was a great asset. You cleaned out the flesh-eating horse stables, which was a labor of Hercules. On a more personal note, you made the East and West river work together in the second Titan War. You've saved, acquired, and are the proud owner of your own Pegasus. And you've earned the respect of Artemis and Athena."

More rounds of clapping. I spoke up to drown the clapping out. "Look, can we just get to how I'm the Avenger? I had a lot of help during that, so I shouldn't take all the credit. What are we going to do with Perseus? But explain the Avenger stuff first."

Lightning flashed as Zeus stood, and the place got quiet again. "The Avenger was a spirit of battle that would inspire people to be their best, and bring out the best in them during battle. You, Percy Jackson, are the personification of that. The prophecy included eight signs of the Avenger. They would escape the Labyrinth alive, stir Typhon in his sleep, protects a symbol of unlimited power which is the Ophiotaurus, saves the age of the gods by defeating the Titans, defeat the Kraken, dies and comes back to life, bathes in all five rivers of the Underworld which no mortal soul as ever done in history, defeats the gods at least once, and defeats himself. That was the prophecy of the signs to look for in the Avenger."

I felt like I had just been punched in the gut. I was the Avenger. It showed all my accomplishments thousands of years ago. I looked up at Zeus. He smiled grimly. "So? Will you take my offer of godship? And your wishes? This is your last opportunity."

I looked back at Annabeth and held my hand out to her. All my friends gave me thumbs up and silent cheers. I grinned at them as I led Annabeth onto the pedestal I was on. I looked into the hearth fire and saw Hestia, along with all the other gods, staring at me expectantly. In her own way, she was the most powerful of the gods.

I smiled. I was the Avenger. "If you swear on the River Styx."

Zeus shifted in his seat and nodded. Thunder rumbled in the distance. "My first wish is that Hestia gets put on the council of the gods, and she is going to be the voice of the council. Everyone will defer to her judgment in the end, unless she does something crazy, outrageous, or just plain stupid. She will be the mature one out of all of you. Is that clear?"

The gods looked about ready to blast me, but Zeus looked weary and nodded. Hestia in the hearth fire raised her eyebrows, smiled, then disappeared and reappeared on her throne next to Aphrodite; a couch that looked nice and cozy. She sat on it, and smiled down at me. Zeus sighed. "Go on. But keep in mind that we need an even number of gods on the council. Maybe you could take the empty spot…?"

I shook my head. I smiled. "With the death of Pan, I want the next spot to be Grover, who will be appointed as God of the Wild. Anyone who disagrees that his labors and accomplishments doesn't deserve of godship?"

Silence. Zeus nodded again as he glared down at me for my last wish and my answer. I looked back at Grover who tackled me in a hug on the pedestal. Then he passed out. That's more like my friend Grover. Dionysus rolled his eyes when everyone looked at him. "sigh…someone bring him some food and wake him and when he comes to, tell them that he's the god of the wild, expected on the council in no less than 24 hours." His throne appeared across from Hestia's as a throne made out of hammocks and leaves. It looked comfortable as I don't know what.

Giggling nymphs came in and dragged Grover off. I smiled as they pulled him off. It reminded me of old times. Zeus looked at me for my one last wish. I turned to Annabeth, then back to Zeus. I thought about it…"I want Annabeth Chase to be a goddess on the Olympian council. As head of the architectural department. She will serve as the brains of the group, second only to her mother. You all will listen, defer, and treat her as your equal."

All the gods shifted uncomfortably and murmurs of complaints, except for Athena and Poseidon, who looked at me as if they expected me to do something else. Annabeth squeezed my arm tightly. She looked at me with panic in her eyes. "Seaweed Brain! What are you doing! I can't see you if I'm a god…oh wait…but still! You're going to grow old and I'm going to be young and I can't deal if…"

"Look, you're the smartest person I know. You shouldn't be wasting your talents by trying to hide them in a world full of unappreciative people. Your talents should be viewed by the world, and I'll be the first one in line to say that that's my girl, Annabeth Chase."

She still looked at me with tears in her eyes, but I squeezed her hand reassuringly.

Zeus nodded. "The wishes are done. And yourself, Jackson?"

I thought about it. Why did I turn down godship last time? Because I wanted to be with Annabeth. But she's technically a god now. Grover's a satyr, meaning that he ages extremely slow. He looks the same as he did in 7th grade. Rachel is the Oracle, meaning that she's going to be protected by the gods themselves and she's not going to live a normal human life. Thalia is a Hunter of Artemis, and she's immortal. Nico can slow his aging down using his Death Boy powers. Annabeth is immortal. Beckendorf and Silena are dead. Travis and Connor moved to California.

I looked at Zeus. Everyone was looking at me.

"Look, I've done my part in the world. I'm the Avenger. I've saved people, I've lived, I've loved, and I've lost. And 18 years as a half-blood…you gotta admit, that's pretty impressive. But I have to step aside to let other heroes take the stage. Ones who have overshadowed by my legacy, I need to let them into the spotlight. Let them get their chance. So yes, I'll be a god and be on the council to balance out the gender-"

Annabeth hugged me from behind. Perseus tried to scoot away from me, but I pulled him back. All the gods cheered and Athena and Poseidon visibly relaxed…until I finished.

"-on two conditions." The gods went silent as Zeus raised his eyebrow.

"Dad, I want you to take Mom as your immortal wife. Get rid of Amphitrite; she just wants you for the throne. Seriously, and your son Triton; he's a psycho. Mom is all alone, and Paul died from a heart disease. Please, she's alone, and she needs someone."

Dad looked at me, then nodded. "Does she still make those blue food that you and I like?"

I nodded, then grinned. Poseidon smiled. "I accept, Percy. Our family will be together again."

Zeus looked uncomfortable. "Now wait a second. When was the last time we made a mortal an immortal?"

Poseidon rolled his eyes and brushed off the question. "Brother please. The boy is the Avenger. We should honor his request."

Zeus sighed, then nodded. "What is your second condition, Jackson?"

I turned to Annabeth and got to one knee. Everyone gasped and cheered. I silently thanked Dad for making my pocket heavy for the right reason. I reached in my pocket and took out a huge, sea green diamond ring. By sea green, I mean the actual band was sea green, and the diamond was as big as Mount Othrys. Annabeth covered her mouth as I looked up at her.

"Annabeth, we're going to be stuck together our whole lives now. I loved you, and I love you more every day. You're my Wise Girl, I'm your Seaweed Brain. I can't be without you, I would be dead 10 times over, literally and symbolically. Please, Annabeth Chase, will you marry me?"

Annabeth took her hands from her mouth, and all our friends in the back all chanted, "WOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHH FINALLLYYYYYY!"

Annabeth put her hands on her hips, took the ring, examined it under the sunlight of Olympus, then hugged me tight. "Yes, Seaweed Brain, YES!"

I looked at Zeus. "As long as Annabeth can be my immortal wife on Olympus." Zeus nodded, and he smiled, along with the other gods; even Hades and Ares half-smirked. Which still counts. Annabeth and I were holding hands when Zeus got up.

"I hereby pronounce these two as gods of the Olympian Council. Perseus, God of…Heroes, Tides, Bravery, Honor, Swordsmanship, and Order."

I nodded and made a _not bad _face. Those subjects that I rule over definitely fit my personality. He continued. "Your abode shall be Mount Olympus. Your aliases shall be: The Avenger, Swordmaster, Bringer of Tides, Brave One, Leader of Heroes, and Savior of Olympus. Your consort shall be Anna."

I hoped he meant Annabeth. But Anna does sound more goddess-like.

"Your symbols shall be a golden sword, a dolphin, pegasi, and waves. Your weapon will be Anaklusmos, or Riptide. Your Roman equivalent-"

Zeus held out his hand, and Perseus turned transparent, and walked right into my body.

"-your clone shall provide the personality for your Roman equivalent, which is Pierceus. Your powers will be listed on a note on your bed in your private room that you share with Anna."

I grinned. A sea green glow surrounded me. I felt stronger, able to take on anybody. I must've grown a couple inches, and my clothes turned into a white robe streaked with gold. Riptide grew 2 feet, which made me look more professional. I felt more…together, more in control now that Perseus was merged back in me. He would be my Roman side…he has all my memories again, so hopefully he uses it for good over there.

Zeus looked at Annabeth. Athena looked like she was about to explode with pride. My father mirrored the expression.

"Anna, I pronounce you as the goddess of Ideas, Creativity, Architecture, strategy, challenges, stealth, and protection. Your abode shall be Mount Olympus. Your aliases shall be: The Challenger, the Protector, The Strong, The Intelligent One, The Victorious One. Your consort shall be Perseus. Your symbol shall be a dagger, armor, shield, hawk, and owls."

I raised my hands to the sky and pumped my fist. "I KNEW IT!"

Annabeth pushed me. "Shut up, Seaweed Brain."

Zeus rolled his eyes. "Your weapons shall be your dagger, the invisibility hat, and your mind. Your Roman equivalent shall be Beth. Your godly abilities shall be posted in your rooms. Any questions?"

Annabeth's clothes glowed, then transformed into a flowing gray dress with a gray flower in her hair. The dress was streaked with a little gold, which made her look both sexy and dangerous.

No one protested; they cheered. Jason promised that he would become a god one day with Piper at his side. I laughed and clapped him on the back as all my friends hugged Annabeth and I. Sorry, Anna and I. Grover came out dressed in his little nature outfit, and we all had our group hug. Annabeth raised her hand at Zeus. He gestured for her to ask her question as two new thrones appeared in the throne room. One was a black and golden chair that was decorated with waves and it had a ridge in it for me to put Riptide in. The other, across from me, was Annabeth's (Anna's) throne, which was a black swivel chair that belongs at a desk. I could imagine her just sitting there with a pencil and paper, just drawing up new designs.

Annabeth raised her hand and asked her question. "Um, Zeus? I hate to start stuff and not finish it-"

Zeus raised an eyebrow.


	34. Chapter 34

Perseus(the god)

I was standing with Annabeth at her architectural orientation and awards ceremony. I figured that as soon as my wife (doesn't that sound awesome?) gets her award, we can leave and get settled in our rooms at Olympus. I felt my power just building inside of me, and I wasn't even sure what I could do right now. My hair was slicked back and straight; just as a god is supposed to. Annabeth tried to look human, but she looked unnaturally beautiful also, almost as if she was glowing. She looked better than Aphrodite in my opinion. Speaking of people who look better than Aphrodite, I would have to apologize to Calypso some time.

I was standing with her and they were talking architecture stuff. I was praying, _Please don't leave me alone, please don't leave me alone. _

Annabeth looked at me, squeezed my hand, and said, "Look, Percy, I have to go to the bathroom, so why don't you talk to my co-workers for a few minutes okay?"

I gritted my teeth and she kissed me on the cheek and left. Of course. Her co-workers looked at me and smiled goofily. "Hi, how are you?"

I looked at them as if they were freaks. Which they were. I answered to be polite, "Hi, I'm doing fine, how about you?"

The one with the pudgy frame and the glasses laughed weirdly. I wouldn't be surprised if he was a manticore or something. "I'm doing pretty okay. Nice weather we're having, huh?"

I don't suppose there's any ice water around here? I looked at him out the corner of my eye, waiting for Annabeth to come back. She was doing this on purpose. I sighed. "Yes, the weather's pretty good today."

He nodded his head like a bobblehead. Him and the other two co-workers pushed up on me, and getting way too close for my style. I scooted around them, but they kept pushing. I heard "ANNABETH CHASE! WINNER OF THE UIA GOLD TROPHY!"

Major applause all around. I saw Annabeth just come from the bathroom, see the clapping and the cheering, and run up to the stage to get her award. She took the award and laughed easily. I was so ready to go. She took a breath. "I'd like to thank everybody here for this, but I'd like to give up this award for Maddy Jenkins. She was the one who helped me the most, and produced most of the ideas that worked. Come up here, Maddy!"

I knew that that was a load of bull, but I understood Wise Girl's thinking. Since we're Greek gods, she believes that the award was won dishonestly, so she gave it to the next best nominee. Not like I'm complaining, since that took away one of the people pushing up on me. When Maddy came up, Annabeth nodded at me. I pushed my way to the exit, and interlaced my fingers with Annabeth's. I kissed her on the cheek.

"Way to go, Wise Girl."

"Please. That was pretty tough. But I guess that you actually came to the orientation."

"Yeah…"

"So…we can do whatever you want tonight."

I looked at her. My jaw was at the ground. She laughed as she grabbed my arm, and we god-traveled to Olympus. We walked past Dionysus who sniffed at us, and we found our rooms. It said in Greek letters, then in English cursive underneath; Perseus and Anna. Then, underneath, someone had written in black marker, _Percabeth. _Aphrodite.

We walked in and our jaws dropped. There was a huge king-sized bed with green and blue covers. The room was huge. It had a ping-pong table, a pool table, a refrigerator, a TV, a second TV, a _gym_, and a workout room. There was also a sparring room, and a sauna. I guess Greek gods really live it up around here.

I saw a note on our bed, but Annabeth reached it first. I crashed on the bed as she read aloud.

"Perseus, your powers will be godly strength, speed, invulnerability, enhanced combat abilities, communication with animals, weather manipulation, mind reading, flight(wind travel), animation, energy blasts, size change, unbeatable in swordplay, control over the earth, and can trigger any natural disaster. Along with that, you will have total control over water and the sea in general. Your rivalries will be Athena and Ares." She rolled her eyes at Athena. She sighed. "My mom can be a major pain sometimes."

I grinned. "It keeps things interesting. Keeps me on my feet." Annabeth smiled gratefully as I held out my hand and the note flew to me.

"Anna, your powers will be godly strength, speed, endurance and durability, invisibility, able to sneak up on anybody, mind reading, telekinesis, telepathy, godly agility, godly beauty, can summon order in an instant, godly intelligence and strategy, and impenetrable force fields of protection. Your rivalries will be Aphrodite and Hera."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Of course I'm godly beautiful." She held out her hand, and my body went up in the air and stayed there. I freaked out, flailing my arms in the arm this way and that. She laughed and set me down on the bed. She climbed on top of me, and kissed me slow and passionate. But right as I got my hopes up, there was a knock on the door. I got up from the bed, sighing heavily, and opened the door. It was Mom. She damn there beat me up hugging and kissing me. Annabeth laughed. After Mom finished all the motherly nonsense, she stepped back and got a good look at us. She got out her camera as Annabeth and I struck ridiculous camera poses. I did a muscle man Hercules pose, and Annabeth did a hand on her hip and the face like a stuck-up California girl.

Mom laughed and took the picture. She smiled at me. I grinned back. "Mom, how's life treating you."

Mom looked around. "Life….life is treating a girl just right. I mean, immortality? For little old me? Come on now, you didn't have to do that!"

I smiled. I really loved this woman. "Of course I did. You put up with me for 18 years. This is your reward. And I think your new husband will be more than welcome to take you away and sweep you off your feet."

Mom had a face of momentary confusion when Poseidon came up behind her and carried her in his arms, Superman style. He smiled at her as my mom, the amazing Sally Jackson, turned bright red and made her famous squeaking sound as Poseidon winked at me and whisked her off to the ocean. I would have to visit my parents soon.

Annabeth smiled sweetly. "I love you for that, Mr. Jackson. You always put your family first." She leaned in and kissed me slow and soft, again.

Then, guess who walked in next? Calypso herself. She walked in having the nerve to look all beautiful. She smiled sweetly at me. Annabeth turned bright red, then hugged me tightly while looking at her. "Yes, Calypso? Can we help you?"

I couldn't believe Annabeth was being so rude! I smiled at her. "Hey, Calypso! What's up with you?"

Calypso looked stumped, then returned to normal. "Oh, that's a greeting. I am fine, Perseus, especially with my new husband."

I looked at Annabeth, who mirrored my confused face. Theseus walked in, and kissed Calypso shortly. He gave me a handshake, then winked at me, as he locked hands with Calypso. She continued, "I just wanted to thank you…I fell in love with you, and even though you didn't return my feelings, you still proved different from all the other heroes…but now I have found my match in this hero Theseus after Ariadne broke his heart."

I grimaced and looked at Theseus. He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "It happens. When you spend thousands of years in the Underworld, momentary things seem petty." I nodded my head in agreement as they left, laughing about some joke. I watched them go, then crashed on the bed again. Athena and Aphrodite walked in next. Annabeth groaned, but I was on a roll. "Hey, mother in law!"

Athena walked up and stared me down. "You think that I'm going to like you now for some reason, Perseus? Just because you're my daughter's husband and my son-in-law?"

I got in her face. I was tired of her thinking she could push me around. "Yes. That's exactly what I think, because I did things as a mortal that you dream of doing. I'm a god now, and I'm the Avenger, and you should treat me and my wife, your daughter, with some respect. We're grown adults, and gods. Treat us as such. If you will not do this, the door's open behind you."

Annabeth raised her eyebrows. Athena glared daggers at me, and the air smelled of ozone again. I forgot that she was also technically a daughter of Zeus. Then she caught me off-guard…she laughed. She laughed good-naturedly, and she pulled me into a hug. Annabeth reached for her dagger, just in case. I don't blame her.

Athena pulled away, and looked at me. "I am the goddess of wisdom, but I do like a little fire now and then, Annabeth. I approve of this one…but only this one. I would've approved of Odysseus because I liked his cleverness, but this one will do. I was waiting for him to show some backbone. Do not disappoint, Perseus."

She turned and strode out in her usual queenly way. Aphrodite raised an eyebrow at us. Then she squealed like a little girl. "Oohhhh, you two are so _cute_!"

And she left the room also. So it was just us again. I closed the door and locked it. I sat down and ran my fingers through my now cut and clean shaved hair. Then, a strong hand pulled me to the bed and held me there. Annabeth turned down the lights as she climbed on top of me. I could smell her godly perfume, and it was intoxicating me.

She leaned down and kissed me, slow and passionate. Our hands went places, and we started a make out session. Until it turned into a little more. Okay, a lot more. But the good part was, we didn't get interrupted any more that night. And I can honestly say, it was the best night I've ever had in my life. And for the second time in my life, I didn't look back.


	35. Chapter 35

Epilogue

Percy

Okay, so here's what happened.

Annabeth, Grover, and I all became gods, and being gods on the Olympian council.

Annabeth took Mr. D's place as the goddess at Camp Half-Blood, which was a relief because I didn't think that those campers deserved Mr. D for any more than 2 minutes. Even though she watched over Camp, she still lived in Olympus and took place in the councils.

Jason and Piper went back to the Roman camp, and became praetors there. They run the camp, and Jason is doing a pretty good job. He calmed down the Romans, so they weren't warriors who killed anybody who wasn't worthy anymore. Hey, it's a step in the right direction.

Leo kept the hooded costume that he wore, and him, Reyna, and Gwen went around to find heroes who would join the ranks of the "Hoods of Perseus". They were a group of black hooded heroes who I granted immortality to. They used their powers to become vigilantes, not heroes, meaning that they pretty much sought out danger before it became known to the world, and destroyed it. They operate at night, and use the darkness as their greatest asset. Annabeth also blesses them because they need stealth.

Just yesterday, the Hoods destroyed Hyperion. Granted, they had a little trouble and I came down and saved down. Leo became the leader of the Hoods, and him and Reyna have a steady relationship. Nico also joined the Hoods, and actually started a little relationship with Gwen. Not like I'm complaining about that. That girl needed a guy. The real fun part was when the Hoods met the Hunters, and they broke out in a full fight that I had to stop. Tyson also joined as the big man of the group. Luckily, the suit stretched to fit his body.

The roster of the Hoods were: Leo, son of Hephaestus. Reyna, daughter of Bellona. Gwen, daughter of Hermes. Tyson, son of Poseidon. Hazel, daughter of Pluto. Frank, son of Mars. Austin, son of Apollo. Katie Gardner, daughter of Demeter. Will Solace, son of Apollo. And along with those familiar ones, there have been several new faces, including bombshell Tommy, son of Ares. I had to come down to put him in check a couple of times.

Let's see…Theseus is still with Calypso and they're happy with each other. Two old-school people who have no place in the today world, but they still seem happy anyway.

Thalia, Grover, Annabeth, and I still hang out like four teenagers. We can do this without violating Thalia's Hunter promises because we're gods, and not 'men'. I know, confusing, but I'm not complaining. I get to hang out with my annoying cousin.

Rachel…is an interesting case. She looks at me like silent flirting, but she never does it explicitly. We visit and hang out with her a lot, because we know that the life of an Oracle can be pretty lonely, judging from the social life of the mummy in the attic of Camp Half-Blood. She appreciates it; she doesn't say it, but we can see it. The pep in her step, the abundance of smiles.

Ares still challenges me to fights all the time; Ares, and Mars. And yet, because of my gifts of godhood, I beat him every single time. He used every weapon known to man, and I still beat him.

Zeus grudgingly respects me. He comes into my room for advice of how to lead his family in the right direction and away from arguments. I think he does this because he realizes that I actually, in a way, did what he never could do. All his accomplishments, and be mortal, while turning down immortality. I try to give him the best advice I can, but I'm not really a psychologist. We once got into a fight about the way to discipline the demigods when they accidently knocked over his statue. He wanted to turn them into vultures, but when I stood up to him, we got into a little fight. We fought to a standstill; I held back because I didn't want to hurt him somehow…and I have the feeling that he held back also. I still have the lightning shaped scar on my back.

Hades still hates me, despite the fact that every week, I visit him in the Underworld, and bless him with my hospitality whether he likes it or not. I haven't really forgiven Persephone and Demeter for not standing up for me years ago when Hades captured me. Hades hates the fact that I've become immortal, meaning that he will never have control over my soul, and have power over me in turn. I try to treat him as my own family, which is extremely hard, but I still do it out of respect.

Dad and I are on equal grounds of power terms, but I treat him with respect as my father. You know Mom still comes and visits me, and still tells me to clean my room? You know what I do?! I'm a man! I'm a god! I have my own wife! I have my own sense! You know what I tell her?

"Okay, Mom." And I clean my room. Hey, never underestimate the power of your mother. They can kick your butt either physically or mentally and you can't touch them since they gave life to you. Annabeth and I visit Dad underwater to oversee his armies, and to just check out what's going on. Dad gave Riptide a little makeover, giving it the ability to turn into a trident, or any weapon that I can use. You have no idea how practical that is.

Aphrodite flirts with me incessantly. I try to avoid her as much as possible out of respect of her husband Hephaestus. Hephaestus looks at me with a grudging respect, and he even brings Annabeth and I down to his place to show us his designs for weapons.

Apollo and Hermes treats me as their little brother and messes with me from time to time. They're just as bad as Travis and Connor in the case of their pranks. And they're not regular pranks. They're pranks worthy of gods. You have any idea how annoying that is?!

Annabeth and I visit the Underworld and bring word of the outside world to them. We visit the ghosts of our deceased friends, and it's cool because they don't have any regrets. All of them, and I mean all of them, are happy in death.

I go hunting with Artemis every week also. I actually like hanging out with her because she has no romantic attraction to me, and she's an amazing Hunter. Sometimes we even do little hunt challenges, where we try to hunt each other down. We fight each other, but not lethally. So I guess you could call her my sparring partner.

Dionysus just ignores me as much as possible. I do the same. It's a mutual agreement not to kill each other.

Annabeth and I look down on the mortals and demigods, and we protect them to the best of our ability, Annabeth mostly since she's called the Protector.

I was standing of the temple of the gods. It was huge, and decorated with drawings of the gods' adventures and monsters. There were spiderwebs, and it was dusty, as if they hadn't been in here in centuries. There were stone and marble statues of every god, and there were even new ones added of Annabeth, Grover, Hestia, and I.

I walked over to the statues. I looked at Zeus'. He was depicted in his famous position where he's throwing the Master Bolt. It said in Greek, _Zeus, King of the Gods. _I turned to the left to look at my father's. He had one hand on his hip, and the other holding his trident and looking up to the sky. _Poseidon, God of the Sea and the Earthshaker. _

I turned and looked at Athena's. She was depicted as two hands on her hips, looking straight at the spectator. I could almost see her gray eyes moving at a million miles an hour. _Athena, Goddess of Wisdom and Battle Strategy. _

I looked at Hades'. I thought of him climbing out that prison. It showed him wearing his helm of Darkness and pointing his pitchfork. He had his usual angry facial expression. I skipped the others and went right to ours.

Annabeth was depicted holding her hands out as if protecting someone. Under it, it read, _Anna, Goddess of Protection and Creativity. _

Grover was depicted as crouched down as if he was tending to the ground. It read, _Grover, God of the Wild and Nature._

Hestia was depicted as standing in a fire and looking straight ahead. _Hestia, Goddess of the Hearth. _

I was depicted as holding Riptide to the sky and looking to the sky as if looking for some heavenly inspiration. My expression was that of determination, the way that Annabeth says I look after I win a battle with someone, or an argument with Athena.

I sensed someone behind me. I turned and saw Hades. He was wearing his totally black suit with no white visible. His beard and pale skin hadn't changed. He bore his eyes into me. His voice came out as a raspy whisper, "Perseus."

I raised an eyebrow. "I was just about to visit you."

He looked around. "This hasn't been visited in many ages," he admitted. "And you're the first in a while to come in here."

I looked at him, and went out on a limb. "Why are the older gods so bitter? What's wrong with all you? You should be cheerful, and most of all, you should be mature about your decisions. Like, it's obvious that you've been mistreated and yet you don't stand up for yourself."

Hades' eyes smoldered with the orange fire again. I gripped Riptide at my side, and Hades' eyes blazed even further. "I don't say anything because it would upset the balance. You think that if I vouched to get taken out the Underworld, things would be good? Chaos would reign. Ghosts would find their ways out and torment humanity. People would resent me, and it could start a war if I have the gods choose sides. You think you know about sacrifice, Jackson? My wife hates me, and despises her time spent in the Underworld. She can't wait to get out, and I'm alone in there during half of the seasons. My brothers hate me and view me as something that I'm not. But I keep the façade up to establish peace. You have everyone loving or at least respecting you, and a beautiful wife to call yours. And what do I have? Nothing. You wonder why I'm so hostile towards you, Perseus? You know now."

"So you're doing this to keep the peace? Maybe your wife wouldn't hate you as much if you tanned yourself. Gave her some flowers. Some presents. Listen to her for a chance. Just try being nice to her for a change. Literally, thinks can't get any worse for you."

Hades' eyes smoldered again, but Persephone materialized with a bored expression on her face. He gritted his teeth since he was interrupted of his hate of me. He turned towards her with his hands behind his back. I raised my eyebrows, and conjured a bouquet of wonderful salvalillies, the flowers of Olympus. I put it in his hands, and he whipped towards me with anger in his eyes for setting him up.

Persephone saw the flowers, and her eyes lit up. "Aww, Hades you got me these?! Where did you pick these? They smell beautiful!"

Hades couldn't have looked more uncomfortable. I sent him a silent message, and he turned to his wife and forced a smile. "They're for you, my wife. I hope you enjoy them." Persephone smiled, kissed Hades, the god of death, and hooked arm in arm with him as they disappeared in thin air, probably to Mount Olympus.

I was left alone in the place. I looked at the walls, and there were pictures and paintings of Zeus throwing his lightning bolt, Hera making stuff blow up, Hades sitting in his throne in the Underworld, Hermes running across the sky, Apollo riding his chariot of the Sun across the heavens, Ares in armor, battling the Titan Atlas, Heracles with the Nemean Lion's cloak, Theseus with the horn of the Minotaur, Poseidon with his trident above the seas, Aphrodite rising out of sea foam.

I turned and saw a whole wall with me on it. There was a Greek inscription at the top. There were huge overlapping paintings of me fighting the Minotaur, crossing the Sea of Monsters, fighting Polyphemus, charging Atlas, protecting the Ophiotaurus, falling into the Labyrinth, destroying the telekhines, sailing away from Calypso's island, attacking a blonde figure who was Kronos, running from the gorgons, leading two warriors I recognized as Frank and Hazel against Gaea herself, and much more small battles. Above all of it showed me in a white robe holding a spear to the sky; lightning was striking it, there was a wave rising behind me, and skeletons and darkness was surrounding me, and the spear had the illusion that it was glowing. I recognized the spear; the Spear of Tridium, created by combining the Big Three's weapons. Apparently that's an adventure I haven't had yet. The ancient Greek inscription above all of it read, _Perseus, The Avenger. _

I then recognized the drawings, the brush strokes and the painting color choices and the action scenes. _Rachel _drew all these. Just mine, not everyone else' paintings. I'm pretty sure the previous Oracles drew the other paintings. Rachel drew me with such…preciseness. Accuracy. It was uncanny, and amazing at the same time.

"Beautiful, aren't they?" I turned to see Athena, standing there in her black and white robes. Her stormy gray eyes even still caught me off guard as they looked into my soul. I nodded and turned back to the pictures.

"I suppose you aren't here to kill me."

Athena smirked. "If only. I do not approve of your relationship with my daughter, even if you are the prophesied ones to save the age of the gods."

I rolled my eyes. "Deal with it, then."

Athena sighed. "I suppose I can't change your mind. Well, if you're staying with her, I want grandchildren."

I looked at her incredulously. Grandchildren? She goes from hating me to…wanting me to….ugh. Extreme bipolar disorder. Athena smirked again.

"No, not bipolarness, Perseus. I want you two to be happy, as happy as possible when you're a god. But the age of us gods are ending. It's been a good run, but it's coming to a close soon. It's going to be a while, but when we do step down, we expect you young gods to step up and take our place. Especially you, Perseus, who will be their leader?"

"WHAT?"

"And you'll do a great job of it. I have no doubt. You must know discipline, control, power, and assertiveness. You have all that, so you will take Zeus' place one day. Observe him. Keep your personality. It will save you one day. And keep an eye on that one Jason Grace. He could be a good candidate to step up as a god soon."

I looked at her warily. Why was she telling me this?

"Because I want you to have the most success possible. You are our only hope Perseus, even though there might not seem to be any danger around. Now, would this be a good time to tell you that your Hoods are in danger of Antaeus?"

"Antaeus," I grumbled. "I need to get a serious family reunion with a godly psychiatrist. My siblings have issues."

Athena had a hint of a smile on her face as I ran out the temple and jumped into the open sky. It was like 500 feet down to the ground. I fell, and sure enough, my man Blackjack swoops down, catches me, and in a flash of light, we arrive at the scene and take down my half-brother. Doing all that in a matter of 2 minutes, I flew Blackjack back up to the throne room.

I stared at the empty throne of the gods. Annabeth came in and held my hand. We didn't need to talk. We already knew what we were thinking. It was one of our gifts. As I was staring at the thrones, I was thinking. One of these days, it was going to be ours. And who will step up?

Jason in Zeus' spot? Me in my father's spot? Annabeth in Athena's spot? Nico in Hades' spot? Clarisse in Ares' spot? Piper in Hera's spot? Or in Aphrodite's spot? Katie Gardner in Demeter's spot? Who will take Hestia's spot? Thalia will probably take Artemis' place. Pollux will probably take his father's spot (as if that'll be hard). But it's still a lot to think about. How will they be able to take godship? I would have to keep an eye on them. Protect them to the best of my ability.

I've bathed in the five rivers of the Underworld. I've died and came back to life. I have saved the world countless times. I've led my friends and teams into battle and came out victorious. I've defeated demigods, monsters, giants, gods, Titans, Primordial beings, and hopefully much more.

I've transcended the expectations and accomplishments of the gods, and yet I will still stay humble. I will stand up for what's right, and stand up to what's wrong. I've defeated every evil that's come at me so far, and hopefully it will stay that way. I will protect humanity for all I've got. Because that's what I do. I fight. And that's the whole point of being a god. Being immortal so you can use your abilities to help others and keep order around the world. But it doesn't mean forget my human side. I will fight to keep those two equal in my mind.

Us gods still look and keep our eyes open for the next heroes of this era. I am Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon. And Perseus, the god of heroes, bravery, order, and honor. And it's my job to find the next hero, or maybe, just maybe, make one myself with my wife.

Farewell!

Perseus(aka, Percy Jackson, troubled kid with ADHD problems and difficulty with girls)

**AN- Thank you for reading the story! Please give your opinions on the story, and your reviews! A couple of you have been awesome! I will probably start writing another story in a couple days so stay tuned! Does anyone know how to get accepted into a community? I would really love it if I got nominated, or put into one! Thanks! Blessings to you all! **


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